Meg was a bright and friendly girl. Unfortunately, no one in her class spoke to her because they felt there was something strange in her behaviour. Many of them had seen her talking and smiling to herself. So, they stayed away from her because they thought she was slightly crazy. Some even told the strange stories of how they believed that she had the ability to talk to ghosts and spirits. Poor Meg would sit quietly in the class, as no one wanted to talk or befriend her. Meg did not mind it much because she was in a world of her own. In a way, her classmates had unknowingly said the truth. She could indeed see and talk to spirits. It was a gift that had developed as she grew up. There was a time when she had been scared of them, but gradually she had learnt to accept them and overcome her fear.
Meg’s Invisible Friend
This incident happened when Meg was in her primary class. One day, Meg saw a little girl sitting on the last bench. She looked sad and timid and spoke to no one. So, Meg decided to find out the reason. She approached the girl and said, “What is your name?” The girl just smiled back at her. Though the girl did not give her name yet Meg became friendly with her. During her breaks, she would go to the last bench, chat with the girl and eat her lunch. Soon, her classmates noticed this strange behaviour and reported it to her teacher. One day Meg’s teacher called her to the office and asked her why she sat on the last bench and spoke to herself. Confused, Meg replied, “I don’t talk to myself. I chat with the little girl who sits on the back bench.” The teacher was annoyed that Meg was lying to her and dismissed the matter.
The Girl in the Room
A few years later, it was one of those days when Meg had a lot of leisure time. So she picked her guitar up and started playing a song. Suddenly, she noticed someone standing in a corner of her room. She looked closely and noticed that it was a girl. She looked about 16 and wore an old, shabby frock. Her dishevelled brown hair fell on her shoulders and her face was covered with dirt and grime. The girl seemed to be enjoying Meg’s song and just stood there nodding her head. The girl, who was actually a spirit, did not realise that Meg could see her. However, Meg stopped playing the guitar and asked the girl who she was. Surprised, the girl asked Meg if she was not frightened by her presence. Meg smiled and said, “You are just like any other person to me. So let’s be friends.”
The Lonely Friend
So, Meg asked the girl the story of her life. At first the girl started sobbing uncontrollably. She then collected herself and started narrating what had happened to her. “Many years I too lived in a house like yours in this neighbourhood. Unfortunately, my mother died when I was just 10 years old. My father married again and I got a stepmother. She never liked me. By the time I was a teenager she started treating me badly. Whenever my father was around, she would ask me to do all the chores. I had to do the cooking, washing and cleaning. Also, she hardly gave me anything to eat. My body became weak and it was not long before I was down with high fever. Still, she would not feed me properly and I died,” said the teenage girl, tears flowing down her cheeks. Meg felt pity for the spirit and started playing the guitar to cheer her up.
