The Invisible Friend

There was always an unnatural occurrence looming over me; I just never noticed it until we moved into our new house. As I packed up all the boxes in the attic, I stumbled across an old silver necklace. It had words etched into a small cross, dangling freely from the chain. I rubbed my fingers over the carving before hastily shoving it into my pocket. The whole car ride, I felt something or someone peeking over my shoulder, breathing on my neck. My eyes soon grew heavy as I drifted off into a slumber.

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I woke up to our car driving over a rough gravel driveway, leading to our new house. “We are here, sweetie,” my mum told me. I grunted a reply, opened the door, and jumped out of the car. A fresh gust of wind almost knocked me down, as if sending a warning sign to turn back. I could feel the necklace grow heavy in my pocket as I stood on the porch, waiting for my parents to open the front door. As soon as the door opened, an icy blast of wind hit us in the face, as if it was screaming at us to turn back.

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I climbed up the stairs, leaving footprints through the thick layer of dust behind me. As I looked down the dark hallway, I caught someone at the end of the hallway, staring back at me in the corner of my eye. When I turned back, nobody was there. My footsteps echoed through the hallway as I reached a room at the end of the hall. As soon as I brushed my fingers over the doorknob, I felt the hair on my neck stand on end.

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At the back of my mind, I knew something was wrong, but I ignored all the caution signs and stepped inside. My eyes scanned the room before I decided to take another step. As soon as both my feet were planted on the bedroom floor, I felt a cold hand on the back of my neck, and both my feet flew out from under me. I felt the world dissolve into blackness, swallowing me whole as I plummeted into the void of unconsciousness.

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As I awoke from the depths of unconsciousness, the feeling of a shadowed figure came into view. My eyelids fluttered open, revealing a cold, dimly lit room. I felt my heart beating faster than a drum solo. The only remaining memory was stepping into the bedroom and then darkness enveloping me. I pulled myself up, mere inches away from the ghost's flickering form. Raising my trembling hand forward, my fingertips brushed against the cold, airy substance that stood before me. I parted my lips, “Who are you? What do you want from me?” I shouted, mustering as much courage as I could, flinching as the ghost leaned in closer.

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“Please be silent, I am a friend, not foe,” she whispered, her voice trembling. She was a girl, around the age of only fourteen, with long, jet-black hair and piercing blue eyes. She was wearing a long white nightgown and black sandals with buckles. “What are you, and why are you here?” I trembled, my voice barely above a whisper. “I am a ghost. I come from the year 1886. I have been trapped in this house for days, as nobody has been able to free me. Can you please free me?” The ghost replied in a hushed tone, wheezing out the last sentence.

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My thoughts raced around my head. Her words hung in the air like mist, swirling around me, as I found myself lost in contemplation. “Okay,” I replied after what felt like an eternity spent contemplating. “How can I help you, though?” I asked, still lost in thought. “Oh, it's simple, really. Just take me outside. From there, I will find my family and be on my way!” The girl replied, a grin forming from one cheek to the other. I nodded, opening my mouth to say something, but my mother's voice cut me off. “Amelia, dinner is ready!”

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The aroma of fresh meat and steamed vegetables floated around the room as I slid my fork through the chicken lying on my plate and placed the meat in my mouth. I chewed my food, my eyes wandering all over the room until they zoomed in on something unusual. Hovering over my mother was the ghost. I abruptly stood up, urgently trying to distract my mother from noticing the eerie figure standing over her. “Honey, are you okay? If so, please sit down. It is time to eat, not to run around!” my mother asked, clearly oblivious to what was going on. “Sorry, Mum, just bear with me for one moment,” I said, panic-stricken.

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With that, I grabbed the ghost girl and ran out of the dining room and into the backyard. “Satisfied?” I yelled, the words tumbling out. “Do you know how risky that was? If my mother saw you, she would have called the exterminator!”

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“Sorry, I was just getting impatient. I’ll be on my way now; I must look for my family! Goodbye, human!” The ghost girl replied, smiling satisfactorily. As I was about to open the door, I turned back, a thought popping into my head. But she was already gone. Little did the ghost girl know that we are years from the year 1886. Oh well.