Some people, when they were children, had an imaginary friend to play with when they were lonely, to comfort them when they were scared, and to take the blame when they were in trouble.

I had an imaginary enemy.

In a strange way, he was a comfort to me: I never feared ghosts or monsters or burglars, because he was much worse. I imagined he would prevent other horrors from coming near me, because if anything was going to hurt me, it would be him, and nothing else. He was kinda possessive in that way.

And although I left childhood many years ago, he has never entirely faded. When I'm stressed or scared or alone, he'll turn up in a dream, or I'll see someone in the street who looks like him, just for a second. He reminds me that, whatever problems I'm having, I could be having a much worse time...