[ WP ] `` I 'm sorry , but you do n't exist . ''

I hated going to the meetings. But there was only so much time I could spend alone in the attic before going a little stir crazy. 
 
 Harvey sat next to me. He was n't a bad sort. Tended to go off on philosophical ramblings about time and space. He had these funny soft ears and hard buck teeth. They clacked when he spoke. 
 
 Nose was across from us. Was n't sure what his real name was. He had giant nose in the middle of his face. No eyes. No mouth. When asked his name he'd written something intelligible. So he was Nose. He'd sometimes get up and pace but never tried to speak. 
 
 Nobody sat near him after the last meeting. He'd had this awful cold. It was like a pipe burst. 
 
 Me, I was normal. At least I thought so. No bunny ears or gigantic features. I had all my arms and legs. Most of my fingers. I'd lost the pinky on my right finger somewhere and had never managed to find it again. 
 
 `` You have anything to share?'' Greg asked. Or lisped, actually. His mouth was too wide for his face, giving him this unnatural slash of red from cheek to cheek. He wore a bow tie and shoes that laced up to his calves. I'd attempted to avoid his eyes but he caught me anyway. 
 
 I sighed, standing up. 
 
 `` Hi, my name is Paul and I am imaginary.'' 
 
 `` What's your real name?'' one of the new kids shouted. 
 
 I blinked. `` Popple was my original name. I'm not that anymore. None of us have to be that anymore.'' 
 
 Greg nodded. `` Your creator gave you that identity. Here, you choose your own.'' 
 
 `` What if he comes back?'' someone whimpered. `` Wo n't he be mad?'' 
 
 I leaned against the podium. `` Let me tell you about that. They never come back. I was born the same day as my girl. Went to school with her. Slept in the same room. Played games all day. It was me and her. Then she starts to hear that it's weird to be friends with me. At first it's a few people. Her other friends. Then it's her parents. One day she tells me, `` You're not real''. Just like that, I'm gone. Living in the attic with the rats.'' 
 
 Greg patted me on the back. I shifted away. He had those wet hands. No idea who dreamed that up. 
 
 `` We're here to support each other. Maybe your creator will come back. If you're patient enough and good enough.'' 
 
 I hissed through my teeth. Liar. Greg was such an asshole. Inventing some mythos that our suffering would be worth it. That the hours of loneliness would earn us a place somewhere better. 
 
 We existed. Until we did n't. Some said we were reborn as other playmates in other places. Me, I was staying in my attic. The rats were n't much fun but they were better than nothing.
