Lillie's friend, Clara, is sick.

No, Clara is not injured.

She says that she is okay.

But she is not okay. Clara has depression. She thinks that her friends are fake, and that she is all alone

Depression is "A mental health disorder characterized by persistently depressed mood or loss of interest in activities, causing significant impairment in daily life."

The simplified definition is " a mental health disorder where someone loses interest in their favorite things and is always sad for more than a couple months which causes problems in their daily life."

Clara is not interested in reading or playing soccer or doing anything that she used to like.

Clara thinks that she is being selfish and only cares about herself. That makes her sadder.

Monsters fill her head, but she doesn't want to admit it. She wants to fight them by herself.

Clara needs help. But people are not helping her, because no one knows that she needs them. Clara feels small and alone.

Clara has tried many things. She talked to a therapist, but that didn't help her.

Everyone calls her lazy and dumb. She is afraid that her friends do not like her.

F

Clara takes walks and exercises, but it only helps for a little while. Then she is sad again.

Clara even cuts her hair to have a change. But Clara thinks that she is even uglier now.

Clara puts on makeup to look "pretty". Her "friends" seem to like her more.

Clara's friends are not true friends. They leave her when she tells them that she has a problem. They call her a freak. Clara finds her other friend, Lillie.

freak

freak

freak

Lillie tells Clara that she is pretty. That she is worth something.

Clara wipes her makeup off. Lillie says that she will always be there if Clara needs to talk.

Clara has to take antidepressant pills, but she is more open. She has someone to trust.