ARTSPARKS 2018 

where kids give voice to the work of Iowa artists

The one eyed alien wolf who lives in the forest behind my house glows, and listens to my rock n’ roll. He is my only friend, but he is all I need.

He’s cooler than anyone I’ve ever met, he does not walk or run, he cartwheels and does backbends. He does not speak, but he hums melodies of the songs my father used to sing to me.

He doesn’t tease me about my lips. Instead, he seems to like listening to me talk about my toy dinosaurs.

When my momma told me it was time to leave my home, to move to our new house, I finally told her about the coolest friend in the forest behind my house. I tried to tell her about his big blue eye that looks like the galaxy, how he glows gold rays of light when he sees me, how he likes to listen to my stories and my music but she did not believe me. Said I’m just making him up. I think this is because he’s too cool, too awesome.

Momma told me we would be leaving tomorrow morning. It was time to say goodbye.

I ran crying to him, which made his glow noticeably dimmer and his hugs so much fluffier. He held me in his arms the way my father used to, and hummed melodies to me. It made everything so much better.

We played our last game of hide and seek, my favorite game. I counted, he hid. I laughed while he danced to the rock n’ roll music I put on. I stayed with him all night until my mother called me in. I hugged him one last time, and asked him to meet me again at our new house. He said he would. He said he would. He promised. But I never saw him again.