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A woman gazes lovingly across a candlelit table at a mannequin wearing a pink paper bag labeled IDEAL.

The deckThe Conditions19 of 24

The Imaginary Friend

The version of them you invented and the real one standing there.

Figure
The version of them you invented.
Pattern
Loving, hating or waiting on a person who does not exist.
What it protects
The invented one never disappoints.
What it costs
The real one is standing right there.
The move
Ask the real one one question you already answered for them.
ON FILE
Two place settings, one paper bag.

In each position

  1. HOW IT STARTED

    You met someone. Then you built one that was easier. You kept the second one.

  2. HOW IT'S GOING

    You are talking to the version you made. It agrees with you. It always has.

  3. HOW IT ENDS, ALLEGEDLY

    You will say they changed. They did not change. You are comparing them to a drawing.

Three questions

  1. Which version are you talking to?
  2. What has the invented one never done?
  3. What question have you answered for them?

A sample file

A sample file

The file contains two place settings, one candle and a paper bag with a word on it describing the ideal. This office has reviewed the second guest. It has never once been late, never disagreed and never disappointed, because you have written every one of its lines. The real one is checked against it daily, and each difference is filed as their failure. xxx xxxxxxx xxxxxx xxxx xxxx xxx xxxxxxxx xxxx xxx xxx xxx xxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx xx xxx xxxx xxxxx xx xxxxx The office keeps a version of you on file that is easier to work with, and consults it first. The office has not met the real one and will not be characterizing them. One question you answered on their behalf has not been put to them. Someone real is at the table, losing to a paper bag.

EXHIBITS

  1. A. Two place settings, one paper bag.
  2. B. Five flags, four marked year two.
  3. C. A cassette of the story, rewound forty times.

MISFILEDunder the wrong name

Every file is written for the person who pulled it. This one was written for nobody, so it is the only one you get to read without pulling. One sentence is sealed on every public copy, this one included.

On file in cotton

The shirt

The invented one never disappoints.

You're a Hallucination from $30
Pull your file

Once a day. Three cards, one finding, a status. How it works.