Zuliq and the Chocolate Chip Cookie Crumb Trail

Zuliq had always had trouble making friends. Maybe you can relate. Now, that he was in fourth grade, making friends was even harder. Part of his trouble with making friends was his name. Sometimes, Zuliq thought that if he had a normal name, things might be different. But, that was just his wishing-otherwise mind. Nobody at his school had normal names. If it hadn’t been the local school, Zuliq might have thought that it was The School for Kids with Weird Names.

It was rumored that fourth graders no longer let their imaginations run wild. So, if you wanted to fit in, you weren’t supposed to use your imagination. You were not supposed to let others know that you had any imagination at all. Zuliq had lots of imagination and he wasn’t about to stop using it. That’s why today, he was pretending that he had implants to help him observe things better and to figure them out. These “implants” were just plastic straws that he had stuck up his nose. That was something that someone who was in second grade or younger might do. Zuliq didn’t care. At least, he no longer wore a cape. But, that was only because it hadn’t survived its last trip through the washing machine.

Actually, Zuliq did have one friend – Esker. They had been friends ever since he could remember. Zuliq knew that his name and his imagination were only his excuses for not having any friends. Zuliq knew that people avoided him because he and Esker were friends. They avoided him because Esker was his imaginary friend. He hadn’t imagined her. Yet, she only existed on her World which therapist after therapist after therapist had told him was only in Zuliq’s imagination. Zuliq’s mom had finally stopped taking him to therapists. But, Zuliq was certain that that was because none of those therapists had helped him to not have an imaginary friend. That was also because he only had one imaginary friend.

Zuliq knew exactly what Esker looked like. But, he couldn’t see her, so he didn’t know what she was wearing each day. Zuliq and Esker had an idea what the other one was thinking. But, they couldn’t really talk to each other. That’s why today, Esker was leaving Zuliq a trail of chocolate chip cookie crumbs to follow. Esker can do this because Chocolate Chips are one of the nine things that can exist in both of their Worlds.

The Story continues as Zuliq and Esker try to bring their Worlds closer together. Who will help them?