AUTHOR'S NOTE

I love Eduardo. Must I explain more?

Nina ran. She ran as fast as she could. She was gradually growing more exhausted with each passing minute and each frantic step, but she knew that they would catch up to her if she stopped for even a brief second.

So she continued to run.

This was a typical day for Nina. She grew up in a bad part of the Bronx that was infested with crime and danger. Her life was torture; her life was filled to the brim with fear; most importantly, her life was spent running from a gang that kept chasing her every chance that they got. Nina felt like she couldn't live a normal life. This life would be just as emotionally scarring for any eight-year old girl as it was for her.

Nina was still running. She was sprinting down a block. She wasn't sure where she was in her neighborhood, and she didn't remember how long she had been running for. However, she knew that she had to take a break. She hoped the two gang members that were chasing her would lose her trail if she ran into a nearby alley. She literally jumped into the alley and continued running to its end, gasping for air once she reached its depths. She had to hold her palm against the wall in efforts to help her keep her balance. As she tried to regain enough energy to continue running, she began to tear up.

As she sobbed, Nina wished that she could muster up the courage to finally stand up to the gang that had been antagonizing her for most of her life. However, she couldn't. She knew that being able to defend herself against a group of violent, calloused brutes would never happen. It was bad enough that she was just a young child who was left to fight the evils of the world on her own at this moment. Her self-esteem had faltered to an all time low at this point.

Nina heard the chattering of the malevolent gang members in the distance. They were within feet of the alley, and, from the sounds of the conversation, they knew where she was, too.

Her only hope was to pray. She imagined a savior, much like Jesus, whom she'd learned about at church. In her mind, he was big, strong, and intimidating. He saw a protective guardian in a purple coat. He wore a black, leather belt with a skull-shaped buckle. On his feet were tall, gray boots.

She never expected this particular imaginary friend to be the result, however. To her, he seemed cute and cuddly, while, at the same time, coercive and powerful.

However, she just prayed to God that the saving grace that she needed was enough to save her life.

The gang jolted into the alley, but instantly froze with fear at the sight of the bulky imaginary friend. All the creature needed to do was grin his massive, grizzly teeth angrily at the two hooligans. After that, the duo fled, afraid that the monster would eat them.

The purple people eater turned around and stared down Nina. She looked at him and shuddered with fear. The imaginary friend could feel her pain, so he scooped the girl up and cradled her in his arms, rocking her back and forth as he sobbed loudly, "WAHHHHH! NO DUELES ESTA CHICA, POR FAVOR! NO DUELES!"

Nina was glad that the gang wasn't around to hear that, or else they would've attacked the both of them for sure. (However, she was sure that the monster's massive, constant tears would have been enough to flood the alley and force the gangsters away from the two of them.)

She couldn't bear to see her savior cry like he was, so she put her hand on his fluffy, purple coat and assured him, "It's okay, friend. The bad people are gone."

Her imaginary friend sniffled. "R-really?" he said as he recovered from his concern over Nina.

"Yeah," Nina confirmed, "you scared them away and saved me. Thank you so much!"

"Awh," the friend replied, "de nada, mi amiga."

"I'm Nina," the girl introduced herself.

The friend smiled, flaunting his sharp teeth like before. However, Nina wasn't afraid of them like the gang members were; she knew that they were merely a misnomer that distracted from her imaginary friend's real personality. "I'm, uh," he said, trying to introduce.

It was then that Nina realized that her imaginary friend needed a name. She decided to pick a name that was appropriate for him: one that brought out both his loving and saving qualities. "Your name is Eduardo," she decided.

"Oh," Eduardo understood. "Hola, Nina! Mi nombre es Eduardo."

Nina giggled. "Hola, Eduardo. Solemos ir a mi casa."

Eduardo smiled brightly, his body outlined by a faint halo of light from the open space outside of the alley. "Buena idea. We vamos home."

And, from that moment on, Nina couldn't have been happier...or braver. Even after the gang found out about Ed's soft side, she learned from Eduardo how to be brave. She even ended up defending him at times! Together, the two lived a happy life, eating potatoes and playing with dolls until her mother made her get rid of Eduardo. Although the day she abandoned him at Foster's was a sad one, she knew that she wouldn't have been brave if it weren't for his presence in her life.

Nina prayed to God every Sunday at mass for his protection and safety after he had to leave her. After all, she knew that God brought her pollo adorable to her in the first place.