Well, you’re not exactly social, are you, Mandy Valems?”

“Oh yeah, sure, because I’m just surrounded by genius to be social with in this day and age,” Mandy replied with razor-sharp sarcasm. “Hey, I don’t need anyone else! I’ve got you, you’re my friend, and you’ll be with me forever!”

“…You won’t be with me forever, though…” said Alecto cynically. “I’m like a spider’s web; anyone who is friends with me gets dragged into my troubles and eventually dies.”

“…Poetic, dear friend,” Mandy sighed, shaking her head. “Morbid, but poetic.

Nobody really wants to be your friend when they discover that you work with dead people.

I am deeply saddened by the death of my dear friend, Dudley Moore.

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.

My dear friend, clear your mind of cant.

I wanted to tell the story of Luong Ung, who's a dear friend of mine.