[ WP ] You are a child 's imaginary friend . S/he 's growing up , while you 're fading away .

Lyss turned three today. She saw me for the first time - I mean, really saw me. She noticed me as her mom left the TV room and went into the kitchen to start preparing breakfast. At first she just sat there rubbing her small chubby fist into her eyes as I sat by the window. It was a cool morning, fresh, like after a soft rain - but I was sitting there since the night before and I know the skies had n't dropped a bead. 
 
 I made my way over to her and took a seat beside her. She reached out cautiously towards my face and said, heh. The air in the room shimmered purple, then green, then red as I conjured a balloon to appear before her. She smiled and her eyes said, oooh. I tied it gently around her wrist and smiled back. 
 
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 Lyss cut her knee today. She'd been been biking down the Rouge Park hill and could n't veer away from a scatter of branches that littered the path around a small bend she took too fast. It was n't a hard fall, but she rolled on the ground a bit before stopping. I rushed over to check on her and she looked up at me smiling. I helped her up and pat her on her helmeted-head a couple times as she eased her way back onto the saddle. As she made away she turned back and gave me a thumbs up. 
 
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 Lyss is in the closet with a boy today. She told me not to disturb them and I'm not going to. Her friends are sitting in the TV room. They're loud and ca n't hear me when I ask them to keep their voices down as I press my ear against the closet door. I ca n't tell what's happening in there but Lyss will probably tell me about it later.
