I was a loner as a child. I had an imaginary friend -- I didn't bother with him.

I shake my head and rub the bridge of my nose. "There's a whole lot more at stake here than just my happiness, so I'll let the doctors do whatever tests they want and answer any questions they have. But after that we save the world. And then we move on, okay?

To have an imaginary friend, first you need to be an imaginary friend.

Amanda, you finally decided to answer the phone,” her mom exclaimed after picking up at the first ring. “Where’ve you been, what’ve you been up to?”

“Mom, do you remember when I was a kid, I had a friend, he was a Personification of the Sydney Tar Ponds, sort of my imaginary friend?” Mandy asked.

“No, what in the name of god are you on about?” her mom sighed in exasperation.

“Remember? Only I could see him, but he was real and he was my best friend when I was eighteen?” Mandy insisted.

“No, I don't remember Alecto Sydney Steele at all,” said her mom all too quickly.

Friends are a strange, volatile, contradictory, yet sticky phenomenon. They are made, crafted, shaped, molded, created by focused effort and intent. And yet, true friendship, once recognized, in its essence is effortless.

Best friends are formed by time.

Everyone is someone's friend, even when they think they are all alone.

If the friendship is not working, your heart will know. It's when you start being less than perfectly honest and perfectly earnest in your dealings. And it's when the things you do together no longer feel right.

However, sometimes it takes more effort to make it work after all.

Stick around long enough to become someone's best friend.

I'm not a loner at all.