Creative Voices

By Vishwa Parmar / Matthew staff | Edited by Victoria Vega

“But Mom, I am telling you the truth. He is standing right beside me,” Giorgi calls out. Susan acknowledges what he is saying; she nods quickly and looks at Giorgi in his minion pajamas and small blue slides. And there is no one standing right beside him. It’s just the two of them in the kitchen. She pours the coffee from the mocha pot into two cups.  

“Alright, alright, both of you go sit on the dining table. I am bringing the cereal,” she says, defeated. She doesn’t have time to explain, so she plays along with Giorgi and his imaginary friend. Giorgi screams in excitement, jumps, and runs to the dining table.  

“What is all this commotion about,” says Roy as Giorgi runs past him. He’s just taken a shower, his hair freshly combed. His fresh skin smelling of sandalwood fills the room with it’s smell and instantly makes Susan smile. He walks up to her, and she melts in his arms. She needed this hug, Giorgi has been asking for two bowls of cereal since he came to the kitchen 15 minutes ago, one for him and one for his imaginary friend. The good thing is she doesn’t even have to say anything, Roy understands her. These past few weeks have been hectic for her, she is a neurosurgeon and must work overtime. He on the other hand is a writer and works from home.   

“Daaaaaaaaad” Giorgi calls from the dining table. Susan chuckles and says, “Your turn.” Roy smiles and lets go of her, mouthing “always,” and leaves the kitchen with his cup of coffee. Susan returns to her morning coffee ritual and picks out two cereal bowls and milk from the fridge.  

Giorgi’s face lights up when he sees his dad, “Dad did you meet my friend?” Giorgi asks.  

“No, I haven’t,” Roy says instantly playing along. He pulls out a chair beside Giorgi.  

“No Dad no no no! My friend is sitting here” He calls out. Roy stops and apologises immediately. “I am sorry I will go sit on the other side,” he says, putting the chair back to where it was. Giorgi continues talking without even hearing the apology, being more excited about his story. “We just met, and we have been playing all morning. He likes to play with a gun, but I like to play with the car, so we decided he will play with a gun, and I will play with the car, and then we both played with a gun and the car, and then…”  

Giorgi like any other 7-year-old is full of beans. Still, it is 7:45 in the morning and even though he doesn’t have an office to go to, or a boss who is going to yell at him for being late, Giorgi is supposed to be at school before 8:30 and with all these stories and an imaginary friend, it is going to be a special challenge this morning. Roy being a good dad tries his best to keep up with Giorgi’s story while mentally planning a shortcut to Giorgi’s school because they are late. He sips his coffee and feels instantly energized. He looks at the wall clock hung in the kitchen, and it is now 7:55. Susan enters the dining area with milk, two cereal bowls, spoons, and her cup of coffee which is almost empty. She tries to pull out the same empty chair that Roy did beside Giorgi, but they both stop her. 

“No, my friend is sitting here”  

“Yeah, Susan, his friend is sitting there,” Roy says, and Susan again says “Alright boys alright.” She walks over to the opposite side and sits near Roy. Roy puts the cereal in the bowls and pours the milk. He hesitates to pour milk in the second bowl but does it anyway.  

“Cereal for you, too,” Susan mutters, and Roy smiles. The phone rings from the living room, and Roy says, “Let me get it,” getting out of his chair.  

“Now both of you finish your bowls and get ready for school,” says Susan. Giorgi starts eating. Susan picks up a newspaper from the dining table and starts reading it.  

“I am done,” Giorgi says and runs back to his room. Roy comes back. Susan closes her newspaper.  

“The bowl is empty,” Roy says and looks at Susan. Susan scrunches her eyebrows. Her expression shifting from confusion to concern. “Did you see him eat?” she asks softly, not wanting to alarm Giorgi, who’s already dashed out of the room. Roy shakes his head, still staring at the bowl. “No. I didn’t.” He looks at the empty chair beside him. “Susan, do you think—” 

Before he can finish, the chair beside Giorgi’s empty bowl suddenly pulls out with a slow, scraping sound, as if someone were sitting down. Susan’s breath catches in her throat. She and Roy exchange a look, their eyes wide with a mix of disbelief and fear. 

“Roy, did you…?” Susan starts, her voice barely a whisper. Roy nods slowly, his face pale. “I saw it.” 

For a moment, they sit in stunned silence, the air thick with an unsettling stillness. Then, they hear Giorgi’s voice from the other room, cheerful and oblivious. “Mom, Dad! He says he wants to play again!” 

Roy and Susan turn toward the sound of their son’s voice, their hearts pounding. Susan glances back at the empty chair, her mind racing. She opens her mouth to say something, but no words come out. Roy squeezes her hand. “We can figure it out,” he says, though his voice wavers. But as they both stare at the empty chair, neither of them feels certain about what they’ve just witnessed—or how to explain it.