Short Stories

Creative Writing - My Imaginary Friend

When I was younger, when my childish imagination flourished, I made lots of new friends. My parents told me they were imaginary at the youthful age of 6. That was 10 years ago. Now I'm wondering why they're still here.

At the age of 16, I knew with strong confidence that my friends had been imaginary. I had real friends now, but every time I went home, tucked myself into bed, my fake friends would be waiting with their smiles and false sense of security which made me feel uneasy and unwell. They sat at the end of my bed laughing and playing with one another, taking occasional glances at me. I tried to sleep, but most nights I couldn't because I could feel their eyes watching me, waiting for me to fall into an unprotected sleep when I was most vulnerable. I refused to give them the satisfaction of getting me in my sleep.

After I discovered they did this every night, and only night, I started napping in the evening and in the morning at school. I was also known as the resident insomniac, but you would be too if you knew my friends. The first was a boy, he had fair brown hair, piercing blue and red eyes, and had a shadowy figure that seemed to mimic the shape of a 16-year-old boy. Every so often he would lick his lips and bear his fangs at one of my other friends who was also a boy. At first, I guessed it was just a matter of male rivalry and their overblown egos but I was proved wrong when I found the same two hugging each other one late night. The second boy had a frail-looking body which made him look all too similar to a twig. He had golden eyes which glinted in the dark and pointed ears, his hair was a fiery red. I called him Flame and the other boy was Fang after his pointed teeth.

Finally, the third friend was a young female which I liked to pretend was the younger sister of the two teens. She looked like a dragon, but she didn't have the green skin and scales. I always wondered why she stayed with the two boys. She was neither bored or amused while sitting with them and she seemed much more interested in me. I awoke with a start as my friend tapped me on the shoulder. "It's your stop, Flo," she told me. I blinked away the drowsiness and thanked her for her help. I stepped off the bus and dragged myself home to meet my friends again. When I got home I went straight to sleep.

My alarm went off two hours later, my parents had left my tea in the oven to keep it warm and I stumbled from the sofa to go retrieve it. I sat down at the table and sleepily shovelled the food into me. They were waiting. After finishing my meal I felt like testing the imaginary 'guardians' I had gained. I sat at the table as night fell, curious to see if they were only limited to my sleepless bedroom. As midnight struck I heard my bedroom door creak open as the young girl joined me at the table. Her eyes looked straight into my own and for a moment, I thought I saw her smile. I waited for a response but got none, well none from her.

"Oi Delilah where've you wandered off to?" The boy I called Fang shouted. I turned to him, then back to Delilah. "I'm here Kiba, you may as well bring Kaen with you" Delilah answered. "She can see us like I told you both."

I couldn't tear my eyes away from Delilah. "You can speak?" I asked cautiously. "We've always been able to speak. It's been a long time since we last spoke Flo," she stated. "So you really were real? When I was younger I mean." I questioned. "Yeah, we never left you Flo" Delilah confirmed. While I began to process the information and the situation, the two boys came running back in and I felt their arms wrap around me. Taken aback by their sudden soft nature compared to the one I'd seen previously I pushed them away. "W-what are you doing?" I panicked. "We're hugging you Flo" 'Kiba' spoke.

I shook my head and laughed. They were imaginary. I'm going crazy. "Yeah whatever, you guys aren't real," I said, trying to find a reason for my madness. "You're not real, I just got too attached to you. It's because I named you. You're Dee, you're Fang and you're Flame," I confirmed. The trio looked surprised by my outburst. "She hasn't called us those names in years" Kaen gushed. "Maybe we shouldn't rush things. She looks scared now. Boys lets get her to bed, we'll sort this out tomorrow," Delilah commanded. The boys nodded in agreement and I felt myself being carried to my bed. I felt a warm hand tuck my hair behind my ears before a soft voice whispered, "welcome back Flo."