Imaginary Friends

I recently met a little kid with an adorable imaginary friend, and it made me think of my old ones.

It's funny how when we're small our minds are our only friends. Now we're so different; sometimes we don't even bother to use our brains. I remember my imaginary...acquaintances.

Look, I wasn't like all the other kids when I was little. I didn't have imaginary friends. I had imaginary enemies. My enemy was actually a large clique. They were all pretty much joined at the hip. They were in a circle but faced wherever their leaders faced at all times.

Their Alpha Commander's name was Leena, and her second banana's name was Emily. (I named all of my characters Leena and Emily.) Leena looked like my older sister. I wasn't imaginative enough to create the looks of all the other girls. They were colorless and featureless; only outlines.

Leena and Emily were so mean to me! They called me names and pushed me down stairs! They also made messes and I always got blamed for them. Whenever I got in trouble or Leena said something mean, the girls who had no names all started giggling. Oh, their laughs were so annoying!!!

I always used to tell on them to my mom, but she just thought I was crazy. I heard her talking to my dad about sending me to therapy. She also thought I was seeing violent ghosts.

I think that the world would be a better place if we still had imaginary friends. (Not Imaginary Enemies. You're weird in the head if you have those. But you have to admit, they're a lot cooler than plain imaginary friends. I cringe at the mundane-ness.)

"Are you kidding me? The world would be filled with a bunch of crazy people! How is that good?" asks that revolting reader.

Well, have you ever heard of imaginary friends who gave you bad advice? No. Emily and Leena were mean to me, but they never gave me advice, good or bad. And they always gave me company, which I needed so I wouldn't go crazy. Actually, I think they're the reason I am who I am today. It may well have made me think in the way I'm given example of in these posts.

I think that as I grew up, Leena and Emily would have matured and we'd have become friends. They would have helped me through thick and thin, and they'd encourage me to do the right thing.

So what I wonder is why parents think that keeping an imaginary friend is bad. It just doesn't make sense.