My brother's imaginary friend

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I was about twelve years old when this started, my brother was about six to seven. Like most kids, Keshav too had an imaginary friend. And like most kids with imaginary friends, he had given his a name, along with distinctive physical features. If I remember correctly, the friend’s name was Bosco.

Bosco was short, pudgy and had a grey beard. My parents thought it was a bit strange that Keshav’s imaginary friend would be an adult man, but they didn’t dwell on it too much.

Bosco quickly became a part of our daily routine. While getting ready for school, Keshav would insist that I needed to stop hogging the mirror as Bosco had to fix his hair and beard, at breakfast (and lunch and dinner) the chair next to Keshav was to be left unoccupied because that’s where Bosco would sit. My parents were just grateful that he didn’t ask for an extra platter to be prepared, as Bosco did not eat. He just wanted to sit there to keep Keshav company.

Bosco would make his presence felt at school as well. Keshav’s teacher once told my mom how impressed she was with his quickly expanding vocabulary. He was learning new words and when asked, he would say his friend Bosco had said them to him.

I remember this one instance when a new family moved into our neighborhood. Their kid was Keshav’s age. Mom took us over to greet them. I remember how Keshav shook the other kid’s hand and said rather clearly, “I’m very pleased to make your acquaintance.” The other kid just stared. My mom struggled not to look smug!

My dad wasn’t all that interested in Keshav and his friend, or in anything else his kids did for that matter. So it was mostly my mom and I who got to hear about how nice and “fantabulous” Bosco was.

Then came the incident that made us rethink just how imaginary Bosco really was.

One day, Keshav and I were waiting at the bus stop just outside of school for mom to pick us up. This place always had a lot of parents and kids around so it was safe. Suddenly, Keshav began pulling on my arm, telling me he wanted to go to the store across the street and get a candy bar. I told him we could get one when mom got there, but he just wouldn’t listen.

He pulled on my arm almost frantically and kept saying he NEEDED a candy bar NOW! I gave in, and walked with him to the store all the while telling him if mom got mad at us, it would be his fault. The moment we had crossed the street, the driver of a bus lost control of the vehicle and mowed down a bunch of people at the bus stop. At the same spot where we had been standing.

It was like a scene from a movie. I was in a state of shock while my little brother started crying.

When mom got there, she hugged us for what seemed like an eternity. She knew we could have been among the people who were crushed. Once we had gotten home and had calmed down, she asked me why we had crossed the street. I told her about Keshav wanting a candy bar. When she questioned him about it, he told her he didn’t really want a candy bar. Bosco did. And he’s the one who told Kyle to get me to go to the store with him. My mom turned pale.

For some time after that, life went on as usual. Mom now asked Keshav about Bosco quite regularly. But he didn’t say anything out of the ordinary, just regular kids stuff. But another surprise for us was right around the corner.

My mom’s sister, our aunt Rita, had just moved to our town. She had landed a job at the same company where our dad worked. And I remember that she and my dad got along very well.

One weekend, my mom took us to see our maternal grandparents. Dad said he couldn’t come as he had work commitments. Mom seemed disappointed but agreed to take us without him. Grandma and Grandma too were impressed at how articulate Keshav was becoming. And listened with great interest about his new friend Bosco.

The next afternoon, we were all sitting in the living room. I was playing with my grandparents’ dog, mom and her parents were talking while Keshav was fiddling with the TV remote. He switched to a channel where the movie Ghost was playing. The famous “pottery scene” (you know the one) was on. Mom instantly grabbed the remote and changed the channel to Cartoon Network.

Keshav was upset. He demanded to know why he couldn’t watch the movie. Mom explained to him that he could watch it when he was older and that it wasn’t appropriate for kids to watch grown ups “hug each other” like that. Kyle argued some more and mom agin told him he wasn’t old enough. He pouted and in sheer exasperation asked why it was OK for dad and aunt Rita to hug like that in his bed.

Mom was taken aback and asked what he was talking about. Kyle told her that dad and aunt Rita would “hug” in his bed, “just like in the movie” when we were at school and mom was at work. Once or twice a week, dad would come home for a while and he and aunt Rita would hug in the master bedroom. And then get dressed and leave.

Mom was outraged and asked why he was making up such a disgusting story. Keshav insisted that he didn’t make it up. Bosco had told him. Bosco also said that aunt Rita was "hugging" dad right then even as they spoke.

Mom’s gaze turned cold. She told our grandparents she was going home. She drove back to our house in a hurry. I deduced that aunt Rita really was there because mom came back later that night with more of our stuff and said that we’d be staying with our grandparents for a while.

My parents were divorced by the end of that year.

As for Bosco, he stayed for a few more years before my brother stopped talking about him.