In 1997, New York Times bestselling author Terry Brooks reinvented the fantasy genre again, publishing the contemporary fantasy masterpiece RUNNING WITH THE DEMON, the first book in a trilogy of novels that would become known as the Word/Void series. But in 1991, six years before RUNNING WITH THE DEMON, Terry Brooks began testing the mythos found in Word/Void and wrote a tale titled IMAGINARY FRIENDS, a short story published in the Lester del Rey anthology ONCE UPON A TIME! IMAGINARY FRIENDS has been out of print ever since — but no longer! Jack McCall is ten days shy of his thirteenth birthday, a happy kid with wonderful parents, a great best friend, and a bright future. But after a series of headaches forces him to visit the family doctor, Jack discovers a dark secret about himself, one that threatens to destroy him. All is not lost though. In mysterious Sinnissippi Park where he is banned to tread, Jack discovers unexpected help from the most unlikely of friends and begins a quest to locate the most potent of magics — one he needs if he is to survive. Here, for the first time in two decades, Terry Brooks fans can read the 8500-word short story IMAGINARY FRIENDS, featuring Sinnissippi Park and the first appearance of the elven creature Pick and his trusty owl Daniel!