Do you ever have one of those white lies that kind of spiral out of control. I made up three people in total and ran with it for years.
Picture this - a scrawny 13 girl with acne and severe social anxiety. I was such a shy kid, too tall, too lanky, too skinny, I felt as I don't fit in my own skin and I was so so lonely. So lonely, in fact, that I started making up things in hopes people would like me. Little things at first, embellishing stories and such to seem cooler. Later on telling interesting stories that happened to other people like it happened to me.
Until some fated day in the gym locker room. All the girls were laughing and talking, one of the girls was saying something about her baby cousin, I mumble something about my nephew who was also a toddler at the time. Girl next to me turns to me and asks me loudly "Wait, your sister had a baby?!" and all eyes turn to me and like the fool that I am, I panicked and said "Yeah, yesterday. Didn't I tell you guys haha ha.... It's a girl.... Yeah, I'm an aunt for the second time!" and they all hugged me and congratulated me, for just a moment I felt appreciated and sort of validated. Next day, 3 teachers ask me about the baby and what's her name. I rolled with it (Her name was Veronica and she was an angel) and hoped they will eventually forget about it. They didn't and I kept up the charade until high school. Which was conveniently far away where nobody knew me.
My sister does not live in the same country as me and my parents keep to themselves for the most part, thankfully so I never actually got caught.
But as many can concur, lying is a habit hard to get out of. It seeps into every corner of your life. I made up many things even in highschool, always in vague details that nobody even thought to doubt- an ex boyfriend here and there, a best friend that betrayed me (in order to seem more credible when giving out relationship advice), even a husky dog. I was always sneaky smart about the things I made up, but maybe it was luck that I was never ever caught in a lie. I don't know whether to be proud or horrified.
Those days are long gone, thank god. But sometimes, on an off chance I see some old classmate and they ask about my niece Veronica, I pretend I've never heard of her. They must have confused her with someone else.