Age 3 was the age you realized you had a friend. You saw him smile at you every day and told you of the great things you could do. You knew that nothing would be able to separate you and your friend. At night, your friend would sneak around and tell you all of his secrets. During the day, only you could hear him; But that was okay. Your mommy told you that he's a friend. It's called an imaginary friend. You didn't understand why he was imaginary if you could clearly see him, but I guess you were special.
Everyday your friend would be there next to you. The way his big bright smile looked your way made you freeze-up and just follow his every move. He would hover over you at night and told you he was protecting you; That only he could protect you the way you needed to be protected. Weeks and months passed and you two were still closer than ever. He liked to sit next to you at the dining table, but he did not like the food... Your parents told you to reprimand your friend. He did not like that.
At age 4 you began making new friends. They were fun. These friends could play soccer with you, and you even went to their house to celebrate their birthdays. You never did that with your imaginary friend. He didn't like that you went out so much with other kids. You felt sorry for him and reminded him every day that he was the bestest friend you could have ever asked for. That made him the happiest. Your friend liked knowing that he was a priority in your life; So much that he would get angry and throw tantrums when you ignored him for too long. You learned to not do that.
While with your new friends one time, you decided to surprise your imaginary friends by introducing him to the other kids. You know your imaginary friend had already seen the other kids, but you never really talked about them with him.
"Hey guys... I have a surprise for you! I have a friend with me!" You say excitedly, yet nervous at the same time. Your friends all look at you while confused, they didn't see anyone else. "Who is your friend? Where are they?" They all chant. You move to the side and point at where your imaginary friend is. It was a weird explanation, but you told them. "Do you guys have imaginary friends? I have one and he's always with me." You said in hopes of getting similar responses back.
Funny enough, everyone else seemed to have one too! This made everyone want to share experiences about their friends too. Ian had a tiny dinosaur who was red and blue; Bella had a pretty princess who only wore purple dresses; Jake had a boy that looked just like him and liked the same things; And there were many more... However, when you mentioned what yours looked like, everyone looked at you weird.
‘I guess not everyone has dark dripping silhouettes following them every day...'
You thought to yourself as everyone bantered over whose friend was the best. It was entertaining, but your friend did not find it humorous. He was upset. You could tell. He turned darker and darker while his size grew larger. He slowly inched towards you and your breathing quickened. You could feel the sweat dripping down your forehead and almost immediately began to cry. You hated it. You were scared.
At the age of 5 you realized your imaginary friend was weird. He would no longer want to listen to you talk about what you did today, and he would also glare at you from the corners of the room, but it was okay. He was still your best friend. After all, he knows everything about you, even if you don't tell him anything. Your friends slowly stopped mentioning their imaginary friends and even those who still mentioned them changed. For example, Bella still mentioned her imaginary friend, but she was no longer a pretty princess. Her new friend was the princess' brother and Bella's future boyfriend. You, on the other hand, still had your dark silhouette following your every move from the corners of the rooms.
At age 6 you began to become annoyed with your imaginary friend. He was rude. He barely talked to you and when he did, they were all mean things. You were sad a lot and cried to your parents. He did not like that. And in the blink of an eye, your parents were gone.
One night, two nights, three nights of no sleep. One week, two weeks, three weeks of eating the bare minimum. Your only comfort was the shadow in the corner of the room. This was his chance. His chance to protect you and to comfort you so that you would trust him again; You fell for it. It was okay though, because only he could protect you in the way you needed to be protected. Your aunts and uncles took turns caring for you, but you had no real home. They were all scared of you too. It was as if they were playing hot potato, the plot-twist was that they were playing with a human. A human who had feelings and a human who could hear and see what was going on. What you couldn't tell was that there was a difference between you and a human... A human had friends, yours were fake.
At the age of 11 you were bullied. You had taken a break from school and were forced into online classes. You didn't mind though because your imaginary friend kept you company. Now, your old friends that you used to play with have changed. Everyone was different and had their own groups. You tried to talk to Ian, and you became friends again, but he was so different. You were struggling to get used to school. People heard that you had no parents and laughed while others whispered about you and pitied you. Your only friend told you to go back home...
Years passed and you had focused on online classes. You couldn't stand the way the other kids were treating you, but you still kept in touch with Ian and Bella. They were nice to you and tried to help you during that first year back at school, even when you ended up leaving after 6 months. You still had no set home, but you preferred to stay at your aunt's house. Her cooking was always the best and it was more peaceful. Your uncle ended up having twins with his wife and it was a mess. They yelled at you a lot and you had to help with the kids when they were busy. It wasn't too bad, but you didn't like it.
When you were left alone at either place, you would start your homework and your imaginary friend would help you. He was always questioning everything you did in order to make sure you were right. Usually, you were right at the beginning, but he would make you change last minute; It was a fun game, but... You're an adult now. You know that things like that shouldn't be happening.
‘Why is this dark figure always following me and why can't I seem to get rid of him?'
You thought to yourself as you walked to meet your friends. They told you that it was scary, and you should find help. You didn't know what to think of that. This friend had always been with you. The more you thought about it though, the more you realized that bad things occurred around him... And just like that, as night became day, you started to understand the truth.
Everyday your friend would be there next to you. The way his big bright smile looked your way made you freeze-up and just follow his every move. He would hover over you at night and told you he was protecting you; That only he could protect you the way you needed to be protected. Weeks and months passed and you two were still closer than ever. He liked to sit next to you at the dining table, but he did not like the food... Your parents told you to reprimand your friend. He did not like that.
At age 4 you began making new friends. They were fun. These friends could play soccer with you, and you even went to their house to celebrate their birthdays. You never did that with your imaginary friend. He didn't like that you went out so much with other kids. You felt sorry for him and reminded him every day that he was the bestest friend you could have ever asked for. That made him the happiest. Your friend liked knowing that he was a priority in your life; So much that he would get angry and throw tantrums when you ignored him for too long. You learned to not do that.
While with your new friends one time, you decided to surprise your imaginary friends by introducing him to the other kids. You know your imaginary friend had already seen the other kids, but you never really talked about them with him.
"Hey guys... I have a surprise for you! I have a friend with me!" You say excitedly, yet nervous at the same time. Your friends all look at you while confused, they didn't see anyone else. "Who is your friend? Where are they?" They all chant. You move to the side and point at where your imaginary friend is. It was a weird explanation, but you told them. "Do you guys have imaginary friends? I have one and he's always with me." You said in hopes of getting similar responses back.
Funny enough, everyone else seemed to have one too! This made everyone want to share experiences about their friends too. Ian had a tiny dinosaur who was red and blue; Bella had a pretty princess who only wore purple dresses; Jake had a boy that looked just like him and liked the same things; And there were many more... However, when you mentioned what yours looked like, everyone looked at you weird.
‘I guess not everyone has dark dripping silhouettes following them every day...'
You thought to yourself as everyone bantered over whose friend was the best. It was entertaining, but your friend did not find it humorous. He was upset. You could tell. He turned darker and darker while his size grew larger. He slowly inched towards you and your breathing quickened. You could feel the sweat dripping down your forehead and almost immediately began to cry. You hated it. You were scared.
At the age of 5 you realized your imaginary friend was weird. He would no longer want to listen to you talk about what you did today, and he would also glare at you from the corners of the room, but it was okay. He was still your best friend. After all, he knows everything about you, even if you don't tell him anything. Your friends slowly stopped mentioning their imaginary friends and even those who still mentioned them changed. For example, Bella still mentioned her imaginary friend, but she was no longer a pretty princess. Her new friend was the princess' brother and Bella's future boyfriend. You, on the other hand, still had your dark silhouette following your every move from the corners of the rooms.
At age 6 you began to become annoyed with your imaginary friend. He was rude. He barely talked to you and when he did, they were all mean things. You were sad a lot and cried to your parents. He did not like that. And in the blink of an eye, your parents were gone.
One night, two nights, three nights of no sleep. One week, two weeks, three weeks of eating the bare minimum. Your only comfort was the shadow in the corner of the room. This was his chance. His chance to protect you and to comfort you so that you would trust him again; You fell for it. It was okay though, because only he could protect you in the way you needed to be protected. Your aunts and uncles took turns caring for you, but you had no real home. They were all scared of you too. It was as if they were playing hot potato, the plot-twist was that they were playing with a human. A human who had feelings and a human who could hear and see what was going on. What you couldn't tell was that there was a difference between you and a human... A human had friends, yours were fake.
At the age of 11 you were bullied. You had taken a break from school and were forced into online classes. You didn't mind though because your imaginary friend kept you company. Now, your old friends that you used to play with have changed. Everyone was different and had their own groups. You tried to talk to Ian, and you became friends again, but he was so different. You were struggling to get used to school. People heard that you had no parents and laughed while others whispered about you and pitied you. Your only friend told you to go back home...
Years passed and you had focused on online classes. You couldn't stand the way the other kids were treating you, but you still kept in touch with Ian and Bella. They were nice to you and tried to help you during that first year back at school, even when you ended up leaving after 6 months. You still had no set home, but you preferred to stay at your aunt's house. Her cooking was always the best and it was more peaceful. Your uncle ended up having twins with his wife and it was a mess. They yelled at you a lot and you had to help with the kids when they were busy. It wasn't too bad, but you didn't like it.
When you were left alone at either place, you would start your homework and your imaginary friend would help you. He was always questioning everything you did in order to make sure you were right. Usually, you were right at the beginning, but he would make you change last minute; It was a fun game, but... You're an adult now. You know that things like that shouldn't be happening.
‘Why is this dark figure always following me and why can't I seem to get rid of him?'
You thought to yourself as you walked to meet your friends. They told you that it was scary, and you should find help. You didn't know what to think of that. This friend had always been with you. The more you thought about it though, the more you realized that bad things occurred around him... And just like that, as night became day, you started to understand the truth.