My friend's child is invisible to everyone but her. It's regrettable because he is the person I love more than anyone in this world

A few words before starting the story: What I want you to understand is that I do not feel any hatred or disgust towards mental illnesses or sufferers, and my approach in the story is just fictional. I do not claim that what I write is true, and I do not claim that people with mental illnesses behave the way I describe in the story. I also would like to remind once again that this is a completely fictional story. And please don't think that "this is crazy, it can't happen in real life", because it can. It can happen to anyone and I think it happened to me. <br><br>I've been best friends with Carly for over 20 years. We met in the third grade, became inseparable in high school, entered the same university, and got jobs in the same field. I couldn't be more grateful for her friendship, as her hand constantly held me up in the darkest moments of my life. It was thanks to her that I got out of all those crises unhurt or at least not broken. I can say that she is the best person you can meet in this world. And one of the things that connects us the most is her son, who was recently diagnosed with autism, due to which he does not talk much to anyone. And yet, her son is the most loving, beautiful person I've ever met. If I weren't gay, I would probably fall in love with him. <br><br>So I was extremely excited when Carly texted me last weekend, saying "I'm not doing well, can you come over and support me?". I jumped into my car and rushed over to her. I knew that her husband was away, first because his company would be making a big announcement in another city and second because he and I didn't get along at all. So I knew that as long as he was away from town, I could visit Carly whenever I wanted. <br><br>When I arrived at her house, I immediately noticed that something was off. First of all, she was constantly looking at the stairs, even though I could see that nobody was there. Secondly, I heard a strange noise coming from the balcony, but when I asked her about it, she said she didn't hear anything. Third, she kept asking me about her son, who was not there at the moment. I was a bit surprised because she hadn't asked about her son in my presence for a long time. I had the impression that she was hiding something from me, and that was why I decided to ask her directly: "Is your son okay?". She replied "He's fine, he's just not home right now". As soon as she said that, she got up and went into the kitchen. When she came back, her son's food was in her hands. I was very surprised, I asked her "Why are you preparing a dish? Your son isn't here after all". That moment will always be etched in my memory. She smiled, sat down next to me and stroked my hair, saying affectionately "Of course he is, he's right there, you see?". She was pointing straight at the sofa in front of us, but I couldn't see anyone there. I was frozen in place, I didn't even know how to react. I thought she was joking, but when I saw that her eyes were dead serious and her smile was relaxed, I immediately understood what was going on. I looked at the sofa for a while, then said "Oh, I didn't notice, forgive me". She said "Don't worry, but help me feed my son, I'm not feeling well". I was happy to do it. I fed the non-existent child sitting on the sofa for about 30 minutes. Every time I brought a spoonful of food to his mouth, she thanked me. At first, I thought she was doing this because she saw her son, but after a while, I realized that she was thanking me because she knew her son wasn't there. After feeding him, she said "I'm going to put him to bed, thank you very much, I feel terrible today, I think I should go to bed too". She smiled and went upstairs. About an hour after she went upstairs, I heard a loud scream. I ran upstairs and saw her crying in her son's room. I hugged her and asked "What's going on, is everything okay?" She looked me in the eye and said "I'm losing my mind, I know that". I saw tears welling up in her eyes and I could feel myself crying too. I sat down next to her and hugged her. As we hugged, she said "I'll tell you something, but you must promise me that you won't think I'm crazy". I promised her that of course I wouldn't and I would support her no matter what. And then she told me the truth. <br><br>"I know that my son is dead. I know that he doesn't exist. But I still see him, I still see him. I know that my husband cheated on me and the child I gave birth to is not my husband's. I also know that my child was a blue baby. I know that my son was born dead, but I can't accept it. My husband spent months trying to convince me that my son is dead, but I couldn't believe it. I think my husband's words made me realize the truth, but I still see my son. I don't know what to do. I can't let go of my son. My husband called me a liar. He said that I was making up the story of my son being alive to get sympathy. He said that he couldn't live with a woman who was crazy and making up children. He said he wanted a divorce. I'm showing my son love, but I'm sure someone will call me crazy someday and take me somewhere. But I don't know what to do, I can't let go of my son. My son is everything I have. If I let go of my son, I know that I will collapse". <br><br>I hugged her tighter and said "I won't let you collapse, thank God we have each other". I know that she is a victim of a terrible illness, but I also know that she needs love. And I will do whatever it takes to help her, because she is definitely not crazy. She is just a victim of her own mind. I know that I'll be by her side no matter what, and I'll always be happy to help her feed her son.