Gavin, I can’t talk to you here. People will call me crazy."

My imaginary friend smirked. "But you’re already talking to me."

"Well, I have to stop."

His smirk grew cocky. "I doubt you can resist."

And he was right. There was nothing I wanted more than to give my full attention to an imagined shadow and ignore those who ignored me in the real world. I wanted to talk out loud to Gavin―to play and laugh boisterously with him. In a dream I could justify such behavior, but to succumb to hallucinations while wide awake would only prove me insane.

Richelle E. Goodrich