Boy Meets Girl

Girl Follows Boy Home

I was positive that she was a hallucination. No one in their right mind would want to follow me home, though she did ask my permission, something that most of my hallucinations don't bother with.

I liked her. She reminded me of a fairy, small with short black hair and a high, musical voice. The only thing that was missing was the wings. I wondered if it was possible for me to imagine wings on her, maybe a pair big enough that she could take me with her when she flew away.

"I'm sorry about the apartment." I didn't know why I felt the need to apologize. It's not like she was going to be around here much longer. I'd give her a couple of more hours, maybe a good night's sleep, before she went back to wherever she came from.

"It's fine." She smiled at me.

I swallowed a lump that formed in my throat. I liked this hallucination. I didn't want her to leave. I wondered if there was a way that she could come back to me. Maybe I could take a drug that could trick my brain into believing that she was the only hallucination that I was allowed to have. Or maybe wishful thinking could bring her back.

"Are you hungry?" I asked more out of habit more than actual curiosity. I was almost positive that hallucinations didn't eat. "Or thirsty? I'm pretty sure I have some cokes in the fridge if you’d like one."

Her smile didn't falter. "I'm okay." She shook her head and started to glide towards my couch. Her short skirt swayed as she took a seat near the arm rest. She sat on her feet and set the book that she was holding in the subway in her lap. She opened it and continued to read where she had left off when she introduced herself to me.

I should've been grateful that she wasn't as demanding as some of the other hallucinations were, or that she had found a way to entertain herself other than bothering me, but I wasn't. I wanted to hear her talk. I wanted to hear laugh. I wanted to see her smile. I had a weird fascination with this hallucination. She was everything I had ever wanted in a girl. I didn't even care that she wasn't real. I could pretend.

I stepped into the kitchen. A purple elephant was standing on the table. I thought about telling it to get off, before he broke my furniture, but I didn't want to be rude. I opened the fridge and grabbed the first bottle of beer that I could find that didn't have pink crickets crawling over it. They were screaming at me in their high bug voices. I couldn't understand what they were saying; they were speaking a foreign language. I think it was Portuguese.

I popped the cap off of the bottle on the table. The elephant was gone. I didn't know where he had decided to go and I didn't really care. I was just grateful that he didn't break my table. The giraffe that was on there earlier had already damaged it enough.

I grabbed a bottle of medication off the counter top. The label said to take half a pill twice a day. I took a whole pill every two hours. I had a friend that worked at a pharmacy. He steals medication for me. It's unethical, but not impossible. I put the pill in my mouth before chugged half of the bottle of beer. I don't like beer, but it makes the medication kick in faster and would help Julia stay longer.

I put the medication bottle back on the counter and walked into the living room.

The elephant was in the middle of the room, standing in front of the couch. He was staring at Julia, whose nose was buried in the book. I looked at her and then at him. I wonder if hallucinations can see each other. If they can, do they get jealous of my other hallucinations? I thought about asking Julia, but I stopped myself. I didn't want to make myself look like a jerk if hallucinations can't see each other.

"There's an elephant in the room." I said, keeping my eyes on her reaction.

She looked away from the book. Her thin eyebrows furrowed as she looked around the room, and then back at me. The skin on her forehead creased as she frowned. I guess hallucinations couldn't see each other. It would be an interesting concept if they did though.