"We're not crazy, it's just them."

Mary was quite a unique girl. She was unlike any other- with a small, glowing creature constantly trailing behind her.

At first, she thought that the creature was simply a figment of her imagination, a fantasy that would soon disappear when her mind finally figured out it wasn't real. After all, no one except her could see the wispy entity which was always within the line of her vision, so why would it be real?

Years past, yet the tiny critter still remained. It followed her everywhere. When she went to the library, it would perch it's tiny paws on the rim of her book; when she went out on a run, the strange being would always be a few feet ahead, mysteriously running on thin air, seemingly floating; when she went to bed, it would doze off in front of her in it's bright yellow glory, taking a toll on her daily lifestyle. It was soon that she realized it was never going to go away.

With her eyes open, she could always see the gentle golden glare radiating off the small fellow, so she was inquisitive whether it would burn her if she touched it. Mary wondered if it was unable to understand her, let alone speak. But after all, she never acknowledged it's existence, so maybe it found it insignificant to raise it's voice.

Either way, Mary had finally gathered up the bravery to talk to it. She cleared her voice, and let out a soft "hello?". The little individual looked around, curious of who she was talking to, and seemed taken aback as it finally hit it that Mary was talking to itself.

"You mean me?" The thing questioned. It's voice was high-pitched and delicate, giving off more of a feminine vibe.

"Yes!" Mary squeaked, slightly surprised to the fact that the creature had just spoken. Even after she spoke to it, she still didn't quite believe it was real, and didn't really know what to expect, so it was still quite the shocker. "I'm Mary. What should I call you?" She asked, finally remembering her manners.

"....... ........" The fluffy individual had stated her answer, but Mary couldn't quite remember it. "The name is too long..." She complained. "How about Lara? It's short for your name after all. I just added an 'a' at the end of it!"

Eventually, the entity, now known as Lara, agreed. A short round of introductions past, they became very engaged in a conversation. Mary instantly regretted not talking to the creature; All those boring moments in her life, she could have been talking to Lara! They chattered for hours on an end, until her mother came in to check if she was okay.

That, was when her mother strode right through Lara, and Mary gasped in horror. How was it possible? Lara was still just something she imagined? She swore she was talking to Lara just a few minutes ago! Maybe that was why Lara was such a good companion. That made so much sense!

But this time, Mary did not ignore Lara, or try her best to banish her imaginary friend from her mind. She didn't have any friends at school, yet here Lara was, fictitious or not, the finest playmate she could ever ask for. She wouldn't dare lose such a worthy acquaintance over something so small!

However, Mary had once again assumed her theory of the reality of Lara. She had been blinded with the belief that Lara was unreal, and took the creature as granted, a supportive friend no one could see. Again, she was knocked off her feet, as she saw another thing. Yes, another living entity, pulsating with light and perching on the shoulder of another person, like Lara.

Lara had a form that resembled something similar to a cat; plush orange fur with sleek indigo stripes running down her body, pointed ears, a long silky tail and piercing lilac eyes. If she didn't have such an unnatural colour, and such a strange aura glowing around her, she would have passed for a floating feline friend.

The creature Mary saw on the other person, was closer to the build of a small bird. It had pitch black fur, and a pure white chest, as white as ivory, lined with snowy feathers. It's face was shadowed, and instead of a light, ethereal aura like Lara, it radiated darkness. Anyhow, it's behaviour was similar to Lara's, an odd, fantasy-ridden character, which whispered into its companion's ear, having a conversation that was left unheard to the rest of the world.

Mary approached the girl, not revealing the awareness of their similarities, and introduced herself. As expected, the girl, who replied that her name was Emily, instantly zeroed her eyes on Lara, looking as bewildered as Mary was a few moments ago.

"Y-you have one too?" She stuttered. "Yeah!" Mary grinned, confirming that she could see Emily's as well.

"My one's called Lara. She talks to me a lot, and she's literally equivalent to a human friend!" Mary said, and Lara did a little wave.

"That's cool." Emily stated. "Mine doesn't reply to my talking. She doesn't have a name, and constantly whispers her worries into my ear. A little worry monster we have here." She said, reaching her hand to her shoulder and ruffling her critter's feathers. "It's cute, but sometimes I forget she's there. She worries so much that now and then, I can't even tell whether it's my thoughts or just her whispering in my ear!" She gave out an uncharacteristic laugh, and Mary couldn't help but think that Emily was already on the brink of falling into insanity.

Still, it was nice to finally have a real human with similarities like her own.

~*~

Imagine the flabbergasted face Mary's mother had made when Mary finally introduced a real life friend into her life! Her mother was absolutely shocked, but delighted nevertheless. Mary had always been a shy and antisocial person, so it was quite a relief that she finally found a person to connect to.

Emily had been hanging out with Mary for quite a while already, and they had a great time together. Neither of them judged each other and they were able to relate very well. Although Emily's friendship wasn't as great as Lara's, it was still amazing to talk to a person who took in more understanding of the outside world. After all, imperfect people is what makes people perfect. In order to make up with Lara though, she always spent over an hour chatting with Lara in the middle of the night, and the furry feline creature didn't seem to mind that much.

Of course, nothing wonderful lasts forever. That meant that bad luck struck when the duo were bullied in school, quite well known as the psycho pair who could see things.

Although it never really affected Mary that much, Emily, with her real life 'worry monster' droning so many judgemental thoughts already, had already been very self-concious, so bullying was the last straw that completely drove her over the edge.

Despite the fact that Mary was always by her side, she couldn't take it anymore, and soon enough, wore a necklace of bed sheets and hanged it on her ceiling fan, leaving Mary forever.

Before Emily died, the bullying hadn't done much to Mary except bruise her small ego. Now, every single insult shot at her was like a bullet through her heart- even she started to become depressed.

Seeing Mary upset had made Lara feel bad. She missed how Mary would have a smile on her face, and always find a way to start a conversation. All this time, Mary had thought that Lara had her dream friend, while Mary had been the one doing most of the talking.

There was one thing that Lara did that Mary liked the most, Lara remembered. Jokes. If I say something funny, she would laugh again! Lara thought.

So Lara jested. Slapstick, sarcasm, puns, any form of comedy, she would try her best to perform in front of Mary. It did make Mary laugh, yes, but only for a few seconds after become the solemn and sad person she once was. It happened again and again, until even her mother noticed Mary's strange antics.

One day, her mother invited a doctor into the house. She told Mary to stay in her room while she had a conversation with the doctor, but with the thin walls and the fact that this was a one storey apartment, Mary could eavesdrop as clear as day.

"There's something wrong with Mary." Her mother said. "She always stares off to space and laughs all of a sudden, and when I ask what it is, she says it's someone called 'Lara'."

Mary tried to block her mother out, desperately glancing over to Lara to make a joke, and after a while let out an uncomfortable laugh, trying to distract herself.

"It's become even worse after her friend died. See, she's doing it right now!"

She didn't get it. She didn't just stare off the space and laugh, she talked to Lara who made jokes to make her laugh. She talked to Lara, so why would they think she was staring off to space?

There was nothing too special about Lara either. Well, besides the fact she was flying and glowing.

Oh, and Lara's real name was long and complicated.

Lara's real name was Lar. Polar. Bipolar Disorder.