Photo credit: Jen Steele Photography
Photo Editing: Spirit Energy / Ripple Effect: Carollyne Yardley

The last day I encountered my imaginary friend was on a sunny afternoon in the kitchen at my parents house. My mum was preparing us some lunch. I was five and a half years old. For as long as my mum could remember, I had the same imaginary friend called "Little Boy."

He was see-through, but you could tell when he arrived because any space he occupied was distorted, like an energy field. I was always very careful not to walk through him, but my Mum often did, and I would get very upset and exclaim, "You just walked through Little Boy!"

He would show up several times during the week, but I never looked for him, or expected him to be there. I was, however, always delighted when he made a sudden appearance.

Around May / June 1977 he visited me less and less. He disappeared completely and never returned the weekend my Mum returned from the hospital with my baby brother. She asked me where Little Boy was, and I remember thinking I had no idea what she was talking about.