I'll Never Leave You.

Eventually, every child grows tired of their imaginary friend. They grow old, make new friends and their imaginary friend fades away or goes somewhere else. It is very rare that someone sticks with their imaginary friend for longer than a few years. But, when it does happen, there is a strong bond between them. A bond so strong that it can easily be mistaken for love. Or, is it what it seems?

Herriman was sitting alone in his office, filling out papers. Or, at least, he was trying to fill out papers. The giant rabbit had been a little absent minded all day. A few weeks ago, Frankie had said something that he couldn’t get away from.

“Eventually, all children tire of their imaginary friends,” he said.

“Yours didn’t,” Frankie said.

Madame Foster had never given him up. He had always been by her side no matter what. He even became the president of their home for abandoned imaginary friends. They had been together through everything.

‘Everything but what I wanted,’ he thought.

He opened his top drawer. A picture sat atop everything. The picture was of him and Madame Foster. They were both considerably younger. Madame had bright red, wavy hair and Herriman didn’t have a monocle. Madame was laughing and holding Herriman. Herriman was smiling awkwardly and blushing.

The present day Herriman smiled. He remembered that day and the fun they used to have when they were younger.

“Still looking at that old picture, eh, Funny Bunny?”

He was brought out of his thoughts. “Hm?!” Looking up, he saw that Madame Foster herself was right next to him. “Oh! Hello, Madame.”
She climbed up and sat in his lap. This made Herriman blush slightly, but he enjoyed it despite his embarrassment.

“Oh! That day was so much fun! Do you remember, Herriman?”

“Y-yes, Madame. It was the day that w-we…” His voice trailed off.

Madame smiled, “That was the day we made our promise.”

She turned around to look him straight in the eyes. Were- Were her eyes teary? “Do you remember our promise, Mr. Herriman?”

He hated it when she cried. It broke his heart to see her crying. He wrapped his arms around her. “Yes, I do. You and I promised that we would never leave each other.”

She was now embracing him and stroking his ears, “I love you.”

This was a complete shock. Those three words had never been said before. Madame Foster had said the one thing that Herriman had been wanting to say for years.

“I love you too, Madame.”