Heh, heh, heh! Anja won´t find me this time. I found a great place for hiding. Here I can relax for hours and draw something on the walls. Which color should I pick? I like green, but purple is OK too.

When I was a girl, I used to draw a lot as well. It´s a long story, but I have a lot of time, since I am so well-hidden. You want to hear it?

When I was 6 years old, I really loved drawing. I used to create different creatures, which I called my friends. They were indeed my friends, my only friends.

The other children at my school were so mean to me. They didn´t understand how fun drawing was. Anna and Rachel could see a crayon, and the first thing they would do, they would put it into their noses.

One day, I decided to show them my drawings. I thought they´d find it cool. But no, they just laughed at me.

-Look at her imaginary friends! – said Anna – she´s so pathetic.

-Yeah! – added Rachel – go play with your friends!

I just ran to the bathroom and sat there, crying. Well, I had imaginary friends, that´s right. And what´s wrong with that? Friends are supposed to make you feel good, right? Well, real or not, they made me feel loved. And that´s all I cared about. They were always beside me. No one loved me but them. For that reason I felt really surprised when Rachel invited me to her birthday party, when I was 10.

We laughed, we played, we ate birthday cake and we had fun. Anna proposed playing hide and seek. I swear I saw a strange gleam in her eyes when she said that. I found a great place into an empty tree. No one would find me there. Hours passed and the sun said goodbye. Then, I understood. They weren´t going to look for me. They just invited me for laughing at me, while I was here. I started crying. I had been so stupid…

When I thought no one was going to find me, someone did. A cute white… fox? He introduced himself as Kyubey and he told me about Puella Magi. They were great warriors who fought enemies with jewels and magical powers. And the best of all… I could make one wish! Of course I had to accept. But, what could I wish?

OF COURSE! "I wish my imaginary friends were real"

At first, I thought it would be great, but it turned to be… SUPER GREAT! They talked to me! They really did! And I was the only one who could hear them or see them. Now, wherever I was, I knew I was never alone. In class, they talked to me, and no one could notice them but me! No one would realize if they played the guitar in the library or sang a funny song in the middle of an exam.

Fighting witches was OK too. My soul gem was really beautiful, it was yellow, green and blue, all in the same color. God, Kyubey knew how much I loved drawing. My battle dress was also really cute. A simple yellow dress with a wide green hat, and blue and white socks. I like bright colors so don´t laugh. My weapon was a giant pen that shot big drops of sticky black ink.

One day, I saw a witch who was attacking a pair of girls. They were Rachel and Anna. They deserved to die after what they did to me, but I´m not as mean as they are, so, I saved them anyway. I screamed "Aqua Nigra", and a big drop of ink trapped the witch. Anna and Rachel were impressed. They apologized for being so mean to me, and we became friends. Two years passed, and we walked through the school´s corridors like famous people do. Happy, confident, and cool. They showed me their beauty secrets, and I let them watch me fight. Life was amazing, until…

A rainy Saturday I was bored at home. Anna was spending holidays in Canada, and Rachel was in her piano class. I knew I used to do something to have fun when I was young. What was it? Of course! Drawing! I found my sketching notebook, abandoned, deep in my wardrobe. But when I opened it, I just saw angry faces, looking at me. My imaginary friends! They had been trapped in my notebook all these years. When I became popular, I forgot about them. My only true friends. Now they were here again, screaming to me, looking at me like I was some kind of loser. The loser I used to be. I started crying, I am so sorry… but my tears were no longer made of water. I was crying black ink. Black, just like my soul gem, it was no longer colorful. While I was falling down a hurricane of drawings, I apologized to my imaginary friends. But don´t be sad, they did actually forgive me. Now we play each time we want, everywhere we want… forever. Just like I always wanted. Just don´t ask me my true name, cause I no longer remember it. But you can call me Albertine.