I told my little sister she could ask Alex anything, but she has to stop saying “Who?” after every question.

Alex had been my imaginary friend for seven years, and he had gone to his grave promising that his spirit would live on and make sure I grew up safe. <br><br>The first time he told her a bedtime story, she smiled up at me with such wonder in her eyes I could tell that she had fallen in love with the handsome, gallant spirit who danced under the moonlight with me when I was a little girl. I smiled back at her, thankful that he could watch over her too. <br><br>But I had only done it to comfort her, I realized, when she started crying out for him in the middle of the night and every time she saw a little girl she didn’t recognize. The truth was that I had forgotten about him when I turned eleven and stopped believing.<br><br>But after a few nights of hearing her scream for the friend I had long forgotten, I remembered when he would read me stories and sing me to sleep and how strong he had seemed when he told me he would watch over me forever. <br><br>Feeling a little silly, I reminded her that he wasn’t real, but that only seemed to make it worse. So I decided to go along with it, feeling a little more innocent and hopeful with every passing night and every story I remembered. <br><br>But I’m not so sure anymore. It’s been eight months, and she has grown so fond of him that I’ve had to stop pretending and go along with every story he tells her and every game he plays with her. <br><br>“Alex, who are you?” she had asked him the night before. <br><br>“I’m your guardian angel,” he said. “When you turn seven, you’ll forget how to see me, and I’ll watch over you forever.” <br><br>“When will I be seven?” she asked. <br><br>“One year, three months, and twenty-seven days,” he said. <br><br>She had asked me when I had forgotten him, and I told her eleven. She had asked Alex who he was protecting right now, and he said my name. <br><br>“I’m sorry I forgot about you,” I said, feeling a little like a bad friend. “I remember now.” <br><br>“I’ll always watch over you,” he said, ever the gentleman, and I smiled back at him, feeling a little silly for feeling so important. <br><br>I looked at my sister and saw that she was asleep. I would ask him a few questions, I thought, and then I would go to bed too. <br><br>“Alex, is that you?” I asked as sweetly as I could. <br><br>“Yes, of course it is,” he said, looking at me in confusion. “What are you talking about?” <br><br>“Alex, who are you?” I asked, trying to fight back the tears. <br><br>“Stop it,” he said. “You know who I am.” <br><br>“Alex, is that you?” I asked, again. <br><br>“I am your guardian angel,” he said. “Your best friend. I will always watch over you. You know that.” <br><br>“Alex, who are you?” I asked. <br><br>“Who,” he said, “is your friend.” <br><br>I saw tears in his eyes as I realized that he was still in love with me. I had forgotten that he existed, and he had been alone and heartbroken by himself for years, watching me as I grew into a woman without him. <br><br>“Alex, who are you?”<br><br>“Your guardian angel.” <br><br>“Alex, who are you?”<br><br>“Your friend.” <br><br>“Alex, who are you?” <br><br>“I am the one who is watching over you.” <br><br>“Alex, who are you?” <br><br>“I am nothing. Yes, nothing. I can feel myself fading away. But don’t worry. I will still watch over you.” <br><br>“Alex, who are you?” <br><br>And as I watched him fade away, I realized he was still telling the truth. He would watch over me forever. <br><br>But he was nothing more than an imaginary friend. I had made him up, and if I ever remembered what he looked like, I would forget that he existed in the first place. <br><br>Alex was a spirit, a wraith, a ghost. But he was never really there in the first place.