Suddenly, Isaac heard a loud rattling noise coming from the bed behind him. He spun around to witness the wooden box violently shaking. Then, without warning, the top of the box swung open and a parade of colorful smoke and confetti bellowed out. Isaac rubbed his eyes in disbelief of what he was seeing. As the smoke cleared, there stood a tall, thin, multicolored clown man, with bright red hair, a swirly, rainbow colored cone nose, and feathery shoulders that sat atop his raggedy and colorful clown outfit.

The Technicolor clown spread his arms and excitedly announced,

"COME ONE, COME ALL! WHETHER BIG OR SMALL! TO SEE THE BEST CLOWN OF THEM ALL!! The one, the only, LAUGHING JACK-IN-A-BOX!!!"

Isaac's eyes lit up, "W-Who are you?" he asked. The colorful carnie stepped down off the bed and with a happy grin said, "I'm glad you asked! I am Laughing Jack, your new friend FOR LIFE! I'm magical, I never get tired of playing, I'm a wiz at the accordion, and I adapt and develop with your own changing personality... In other words, whatever you like, I like!"

Isaac looked up at the mysterious clown man, "W-we're friends?" he stuttered.

Jack looked at the boy while cocking an eyebrow, "FRIENDS? We're BEST friends! I was specially created to be YOUR not-so-imaginary friend, Isaac."

Isaac's jaw dropped, "You know my name?"

Jack let out a whimsical laugh, "Of course I know your name! I know everything about you! So, now that the introductions are out of the way... How would you like to play a game of I Spy?"

Isaac grinned from ear to ear, "REALLY? We can play games? I'd LOVE to! I-... Oh..."

He paused, "I-I cant... I have to go downstairs to see mother for homeschooling and chores..." his smile faded into a look disappointment.

Jack placed his hand on Isaac's shoulder and with a warm smile said, "It's okay! I'll be waiting right here for you when you get back." Isaac's smile returned as he looked up at his new friend. Just then, he heard his mother's shrill voice calling him from downstairs.

"Well I gotta go! I'll see you after I'm done, okay Jack?" He said as he headed toward the door.

Jack smiled, "Absolutely kido! Oh, and Isaac!"

Isaac looked back at Jack, who gave him a wink and said, "You should wear that smile more often. It suits you."

Isaac grinned happily as he turned and walked out the door.

All day Isaac told his mother about the amazing colorful clown man who came out of a magical box that appeared on the foot of his bed. His mother, however, did not believe a word of it. Finally, he persuaded his mother to follow him up to his room so she could behold Laughing Jack for herself. They walked up the stairs and Isaac swung open the door to his room.

"See mother? He's right he-..." Isaac paused as he scanned the room that contained neither magical dancing clown man, nor mysterious wooden box. Isaac's mother was not amused. She gave Isaac a glare so menacing it made his knees weak and his stomach sick.

"B-but mother... he was-" SMACK! Isaac's mother delivered onto him a swift, hard smack across his face. His eyes began to tear up, and his lip began to quiver as he could feel himself about to break down.

"YOU STUPID INSOLENT CHILD! How DARE you lie to me about such childish idiocy! Who would want to be friends with a useless worm such as you?! You shall remain in your room for the rest of the evening, and shall receive no dinner... Now what do you say you ungrateful wretch?"

Isaac managed to swallow the knot in his throat in order mutter a reply, "T-thank you m'am." His mother glared down at him for a moment before leaving the room in disgust.

Isaac kneeled over, burying his face in the side of his bed. Streams of tears ran down his cheeks as he began to weep. "What's wrong kido?" a voice called out. Isaac looked over to the edge of the bed, where Laughing Jack was now suddenly sitting beside him. "Wh-where were you?" Isaac murmured.

Jack ran his hand through Isaac's hair to comfort him as he softly replied, "I was hiding... I can't let your parents see me... Otherwise they won't let us play anymore." Isaac wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Look kido, I'm sorry I had to hide, but I'll make it up to you! Because tonight we can play games and have tons of fun!" Jack said, smiling.

Isaac looked up at his vibrant pal and silently nodded, as a little smile began to form in the corners of his mouth. That night, Laughing Jack and Isaac played so many fun games. With a wave of his hand, Jack made all of Isaac's tin solders spring to life and march around the room. Isaac was amazed as he watched his toys move around the room on their own. Then, Laughing Jack and Isaac told each other spooky ghost stories. Isaac asked Jack if he was a ghost, but Jack explained that he was more of a cosmic entity, of sorts. At the end of the night, Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out an assortment of delicious candy. Isaac was in ecstasy when he popped the first colorful treat in his mouth, as it was his first time tasting something so sweet. Isaac had so much fun and laughed so hard that night that things seemed to be finally looking up for little Isaac... At least, until the incident that occurred three months later...

It was pleasantly warm and sunny in London that day, which was a bit of a rarity. So, with the help of a certain not-so-imaginary friend, Isaac was able to finish his chores early and was allowed to go outside and play for a bit. Things started simply enough, the duo were back behind the house playing pirates, when Isaac spotted the neighbors cat sneaking into their garden.

"YEARGH! WE GOT AN ENEMY SPY OFF THE STARBOARD BOW!" Isaac yelled, captivated by fantasy and imagination.

"Yo ho! I'll gets him Captain Isaac!" Exclaimed first mate Jack, in his best hearty pirate accent. Laughing Jack's arm stretched out across the garden and snatched the unsuspecting feline, who began to struggle quite vigorously.

"DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY JACKIE, OR I'LL MAKE YE WALK THE PLANK!" Isaac antagonized.

Jack's grip on the cat tightened, and his arms grew and extended like anacondas wrapping themselves around the wily feline as it struggled for dear life. Jack's arms just kept squeezing the animal, pressing the air out of its lungs. As the once dear house pet's eyes began to bulge out of their sockets, there came a loud SNAP! Jack quickly released the creature from his grasp as its lifeless furry husk thudded against the ground. There was hush silence as the two observed the cat's now twisted and mangled corpse. The silence was finally broken by an uproarious laughter... coming from Isaac...

"AHAHAHAHA Wow! I guess cats really DON'T have nine lives! AHAHAHA!" Isaac exclaimed nearly teary eyed from laughter.

Laughing Jack began to chuckle as well, "Heh heh. Yeah... But won't you get in trouble if your mother finds your neighbor's cat dead in her garden?" Isaac's laughter quickly subsided.

"Oh no! You're right! Um... I'll just... throw it back into the neighbor's yard?!" Isaac panicked as he grabbed a nearby shovel and scooped up the broken cat cadaver before lobbing it over the fence back into the neighbors yard. They quickly went back inside and up into Isaac's room.

About an hour later, it came. The ear piercing squawk of Isaac's mother shrieking his name from downstairs. Neither Jack nor Isaac said a word as he crept down the stairs alone to face whatever horrible fate was coming to him. Jack could hear much yelling from downstairs but couldn't make out what was being said. After about thirty minutes, a teary eyed Isaac ascended the stairs back up into the room.

"Well?" Jack asked nervously. Isaac just starred at the ground as he spoke, "I... Tried to tell her it was you who hurt the cat... She didn't believe me... Said you weren't real..." Jack frowned, knowing this was all his fault.

Isaac used his sleeve to wipe away his tears, "I'm being sent off to a boarding school... I'm leaving tonight... and you can't come with me..."

Laughing Jack's face turned to shock, "What?! I-I can't come? Where will I go?" Isaac said nothing but pointed over at the beautiful colored box from where his friend had originated.

"Back in there? But I won't be able to get out until..." Jack paused.

Isaac looked up as his only friend with tears streaming down his face, "Jack... I promise I'll come back for you as soon as I can!" Jack looked at the box, then back at Isaac.

"And I'll be right here waiting for you kido." Jack smiled, as a single tear ran down his cheek. He walked over to the box and, with a puff of smoke, was sucked back in, unable to be free until once again opened.

That night, Isaac was sent off to boarding school. For the first time, Laughing Jack felt what it was like to be lonely. Even when trapped in his box, Jack was able to see the things going on around it, so each day, he waited for his friend to return, and each day the room grew older and dustier. Laughing Jack's one purpose was to be Isaac's best friend for life, and now he had to wait day after day, month after month, to reunite with his special friend. Isaac's parents still lived in the house, but never came to the upstairs room. The only time they made their presence known was when Jack would hear them fighting. Still Jack's life became one of solitude, loneliness, and disappointment. As years went by, Jack's once bright vibrant colors began to fade into a monochrome blur of pitch-black void and stark white emptiness. Trapped all alone... eternal and hopeless.

Thirteen years passed until the night Isaac's father came home particularly drunk, and got into an argument with his wife, as per usual. Things escalated to physical violence once again, however this time, she didn't get back up. Isaac's father had beaten his wife to a dead, bloody pulp and was sentenced to hang at the gallows the next day. With both his parents dead, this meant that the now twenty-year-old Isaac inherited the dusty old house he spent the earlier half of his childhood in. Laughing Jack was quite surprised when he heard his old friend's footsteps walking up the stairs to the attic room for the first time in thirteen years, however it was not the reunion Jack had hoped for.