The first time it happened his mother thought her child had imaginary friends. The young boy with blond hair that almost looked white was so sweet and welcoming, but people never wanted to be his friend, so it made sense that he would make up some on his own. Many children that have imaginary friends outgrown them though. The boy continued to grow, but his friends never went away like most would by this point.

“Miles, we need to talk.” His mother was concerned. Children were supposed to outgrow this particular phase, but Miles seemed to stay in it. 

“These people that you talk about, can you see them?” The room Miles and his mother sat in was decorated with diplomas and publications. There was a golden nameplate that read Dr. Vincence. He was an older man, maybe in his late 60s. The desk he sat behind was a dark mahogany that was scratched up around the edges from years of use. A little brass lamp shining on the doctor’s papers was the only light on while the rest of the room was illuminated by the sun coming through a set of large windows. 

“Of course, I can see them. They are my friends. I wish they could have been here with me so you could have met them.” Miles was a free-spirited kid despite not having many friends, but after people started calling him crazy, he became more introverted. He did not want people to think he was crazy, so he kept quiet. He rarely shared his friends with anyone and that is why no one believed that they were real. 

“Miles, would you like to tell me about your friends? You seem to love them very much.”

“Well, Declan is my best friend. I have known him for most of my life. He’s tall, but he wasn’t always like that. He also has dark skin and some of the curliest hair you’ll ever see. My other friend is Sophie. She’s much younger than me and Declan, but we still let her hang out with us. I think she’s ten now and her mother always puts her hair up in pigtails. I promise you, doctor, they are real. They are the only friends I have, but they are real. Please don’t take them away from me.”

The doctor and Miles’ mother walked out into the brightly lit hall. They closed the door from behind them, but Miles was still able to hear what they were saying through the thin door. 

“Mrs. Wilson, your son might have-”

Miles did not want to hear that there was anything wrong with him. There obviously was not anything wrong with him. He was fine. The people that everyone thought were not real were. They were real to him. While his mother continued to talk in the hall, Miles’ eyes began to well up with tears. He did not understand why no one believed him. He heard the door creek open and he choked back his tears. The doctor looked at Miles and smiled.

“Miles I think you are going to stay here for a little while, just so we can run some tests on you. There’s no reason for you to worry. Your mother has already given us the okay.”

All of this happened almost six months ago. Miles spent most of his days in a large room that surrounded him with pillowy, white walls. He got to walk around the ward sometimes, but never for long periods of time. Miles mostly left the room to go to the cafeteria and he would occasionally leave so he could be assessed by Dr. Vincence. Even when he did leave his room he never spoke to anyone except for his friends. They came to visit him often, which was the only good thing that came out of him going into the ward; his friends seemed to visit him more often than when he was still at home. 

There was one day when Declan and Sophie came to visit him and instead of sitting in his room like they usually did, they went to the cafeteria to eat. The three walked side by side down the long halls taking quite a few wrong turns considering Miles knew where he was going. Once they finally made it to the cafeteria they filed into the long line of people waiting to get their small portion of the slop they called “food”. Miles was the first one to make it to the server. 

“Can I please get two servings of the special? My friend Sophie is too scared to order for herself.” 

The older, plumper woman made a judgemental face at Miles before saying, “Only one serving per person,” in a monotone yet horse voice. Miles did not understand why the woman was being rude to a child who was hungry, but he continued on down the line. When Miles, Declan, and Sophie made it to the table they chose, Miles realized that Declan did not get any food either. Maybe he wasn’t hungry. I won’t worry about it too much. Miles began to eat and let Sophie piece off of his food as well. 

While the three of them ate they talked about how Miles still did not believe anything that any of the doctors had said about him being sick. There was not anything visibly wrong with him, so there obviously was not anything that the doctors could do if he was sick. As they continued to talk Miles suddenly began to cough. It did not stop. It continued and it began to get worse and worse. The coughing got so bad that Miles could not breathe anymore. The bright lights that flooded the cafeteria began to grow dark as Miles’ vision quickly faded away. Sophie and Declan stood over Miles as he fell to the ground from the lack of oxygen entering his lungs. Miles tried to question why they were not getting any of the nurses, but he could not speak. Right before he faded away a slow clapping began. Declan and Sophie were still standing above Miles, but they were smiling. Why are they smiling? I need help. Someone needs to help me. The clapping continued despite the obvious struggle that Miles was facing. Sophie and Declan began to say something under their breath. It started quietly but they began to chant louder and with more force.

“Congratulations Miles. You’ve done it. You’re finally getting out of the ward.”

Miles took his last breath, but the force of someone firmly grasping his waist brought the breath back into his lungs. When Miles finally woke back up no one was there, but the man that saved him was standing in the cafeteria.

“Where did Declan and Sophie go? Did they have to leave?”

“Son there was no one in here when I found you. I didn’t even know that we were still allowed in the cafeteria this late at night.”

The man brought Miles back to the room, but Declan and Sophie were not in there either. It was almost like they had completely disappeared; like they had never existed at all. 

Miles was under constant watch for the next few weeks. While Miles was under supervision, Sophie and Declan were not allowed to come to visit. The only time he got to see anyone is when the nurses took him to see Dr. Vincence.

“Miles I know that you want to see Declan and Sophie, but while you are on this new prescription we can’t risk you interacting with other people.”

“I don’t understand. You say there is nothing for me to worry about, but you continue to keep me here. You continue to lock me in a room that I can’t leave, and you never let my friends come visit me. Nothing happened in the cafeteria, I simply choked. That could happen to anyone.”

Miles began to get restless. He got up and walked around the room while the doctor continued to talk to him about the next steps.

“I think we are going to have to keep you isolated for a little longer due to the fact that there is no difference in your test results.”

Miles snapped his head toward the doctor. He stopped in front of one of the large bookcases that sat against the wall and turned his head back toward the books. He picked up a book that was a dark grey and it had Dr. Vincence’s name written at the bottom of it in a small font. Miles ran his hand along the front of the book feeling each of the indentations that the lettering left on the cover. There was a soothing feeling about the book. The front of it was both smooth and rough; almost like sandpaper. Miles flipped the front cover open, but then quickly closed it and launched the heavy book toward Dr. Vincence’s head. 

“Why do you continue to tell me that there is something wrong with me? What are these tests showing you that I don’t already know? How do I know that you aren’t just trying to use me for experiments and testing that no human should go through? I haven’t improved at all because you keep hiding me from everyone that I love. I need to see my friends. Doctor, just let me see my friends.”

Miles broke down to his hands and knees. He yearned to be out of this place. Any chance he got he would try to show that he was better, but as long as the tests were coming back with these results, Dr. Vincence would not allow him to leave. The doctor slowly walked over to the crying young man. In order to not provoke another outburst Dr. Vincence had already pressed a little red button under his desk to order backup. He settled himself down onto the floor while three burly nurses entered the room.

“Miles, I understand why you don’t believe anyone when we say that you are sick, but we have to make sure you are okay before we can let your friends come back. You’re going to have to stay on this medication for a few more days and then I will sign off for your friends to be allowed during visiting hours again. I promise.”

“I promise. We are only going to see the doctor because the way you acted in class today was not acceptable. I know your friends mean a lot to you, but you can’t talk to them all day and you definitely cannot hurt people when they tell you they think you are lying.”

“I promise. In two weeks you are going to be able to go home. We only need to run a few tests to see if there is anything wrong with you mentally.”

So many promises had been made to Miles, and they were always broken, so he could not believe the ones that Dr. Vincence made to him. 

“YOU LIE. YOU ALWAYS LIE.”

Miles was beginning to become aggressive once more , but the nurses contained him before he could attack the doctor again. He fought his way back through the halls before being thrown into his room. The pounding on the door was deafening and the yelling caused everyone’s eyes to divert toward him. The anger took over Miles’ body. He was no longer in control as he had been for so long. Without Declan and Sophie, he was alone in this world. 

“Darling, I know you don’t want to take your medication, but you have to. It’s the doctor’s orders.”

Miles had not talked to anyone since he attacked Dr. Vincence. He had nothing to say that everyone had not already heard.

“If you don’t take the prescription I will have to force you to take it. I really don’t want to do that Mr. Wilson.”

Miles held out his hand and took the small plastic cup which a white pill sat in. He placed the pill under his tongue and took a sip of the water next to him. After he lifted his tongue for the nurse so she could check if he took the medication, he was locked into the room once again. He stood up from the hard mattress, walked over to the bulky door, and looked out the window into the hall. No one was standing there looking in on him so he went back over to the bed and grabbed the small trash can that sat next to him. Two fingers touched the back of his throat and he spit up the pill he took moments before. 

Declan and Sophie walked out from the dark corner they had been hiding in.

“The coast is clear. Do you have to mirror?” Miles looked at Sophie then at Declan and back at Sophie. “I’m finally getting out of here guys. I can’t believe it.”

Tears began to flood his eyes while his friends stood across from him emotionless. Sophie took out a small compact mirror that she had stole from her mother earlier that day. The two older boys watched as she sat it on the concrete ground, jumped down on it, and smashed the glass. Miles took one of the larger shards of glass and walked over to the door with the window again. He tapped lightly on the glass knowing that someone would be standing close to the door. A smaller nurse came up to the window and asked, “How can I help you Mr. Wilson?”

“I’m sorry to bother you, but I really need to use the restroom. Do you mind letting me out?”

Before the nurse turned the key in the door, Miles motioned to his friends to hide in the dark corner once more. The nurse pushed the door open slightly, but Miles grabbed the side of it and forced it the rest of the way open.

“Mr. Wilson, I need you to let me take care of the door. I know you are in a hurry, but the rules are the rules.”

Miles grabbed her wrist and looked deeply into her eyes. “If I hear another word come out of your mouth, I won’t let you get out of this unharmed. Let me do what I need to do, please.”

Miles dropped the nurse’s wrist and began to slink down the long hall. Every person he came across he would threaten with the large piece of glass, but ultimately let them go if they promised not to call any of the larger nurses. He finally made his way to the same thin door that he heard his mother and Dr. Vincence talking through months before. The door was already cracked open, so Miles let himself in.

“Miles? I was sure we didn’t have a meeting today. How can I help you?”

Miles made his way toward the doctor’s desk and held up the piece of glass. Before the doctor could ask any more questions, the glass slid across Dr. Vincence’s throat.

“You wanted to keep me here even though nothing was wrong with me. You created the person I am now. Are you happy? Is this what you wanted? Did you want to create this monster?”

Miles was not anticipating Dr. Vincence to reply, but with his last dying breath he said, “I’m sorry Miles.”

Miles smiled at the sight of the dark yellow carpet under Dr. Vincence turning red. He would finally be free. He started to make his way through the front office which separated the real world from the patients. 

The warm sun hit Miles’ face like a brick. Sounds of a British boy band singing about breaking free flowed out from stores that were located near the psych ward. Sophie and Declan showed up next to him moments after Miles had walked through the front of the brick building. A woman wearing dark blue bellbottoms walked up to the trio and stated, “Well you look like you’ve been through hell. Is there anything that I can do for you?”

“Can you show me and my friends to the nearest phone booth? I need to call my mother.”

“Honey you do know that you are by yourself right? There is no one else here except for you and me.”