Out of the Box Issue 1 | Page 19

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Strider kept blabbering, blabbering and blabbering. Saying anything that came into his mind to convince Jack he was real. His despair was making his imagination go wild, giving him new useful “information” every second. But Jack was already done.

― Shut up, Strider! Just shut up! ― Jack jumped out of his chair and shouted angrily ― You aren’t real! I don’t care what else you have to say, the truth is: you aren’t real! Stop trying to make me crazy and keep your unreal mouth shut, for God’s sake!

Strider completely gave up. He just stood quiet in his place, looking down. Accepting that there was no way to convince his boy that he was real, and that he would soon cease to exist.

In the next week, in Jack’s small bedroom, there was silence. All that could be heard was the sound of his video game and his grunts and curses whenever he died in the game.

Artwork by: Marina Cristina