Mysterious friend

Lakshmi was waiting for her daughter Kavya to come home. She recently started playing with her new friend at the lake, which is just a few yards from their home. Kavya always likes to play with her mysterious friend. Their home is in the suburb and at the edge of a small forest. Kavya’s father Hari is very fond of that home as he had spent most of his childhood days in it. Though it is far from the city, he decided to live in it. There is a two-meter wall around the property and one can see a beautiful juicy green grass surrounding it.

When they moved there, Kavya was a year old kid. After Kavya, as per doctors, Lakshmi can't conceive another child. So for them, Kavya is everything. When she turned five, she wanted more friends, but there were hardly any other homes nearby so not many kids to play with her. She felt lonely and bored. Once in a while, they take her to their friend’s home in the city. But for Kavya that was not enough.

Many times Lakshmi asked Hari to move to some other home near the city just for Kavya so she could find many friends there, but he keeps postponing it. Meanwhile, Kavya got used to play alone and spend more time at the lake.

When the days were going like this, one day Kavya came home happy and said that she met a girl at the lake, who became her friend. Lakshmi was surprised because there was no one living near to their home, so there is no chance for anyone to come there to play. But when Kavya described her new friend like how she talks, how she looks, then Lakshmi thought, that girl could be coming from a nearby village. As per Kavya's description, she was the same age as Kavya and every day she comes by just wearing a kid’s panty. But Lakshmi was curious to know how come such a small girl comes alone from a village.

She asked Kavya to bring her to their home. But she refused to do that as the mysterious friend doesn’t like to come to their home. And no one must see her other than Kavya; otherwise, she wouldn’t meet her again. After hearing that, Lakshmi started suspecting her friend. She told Hari about Kavya’s new friend. But he didn’t care much about it.

Lakshmi decided to find out who was really this mysterious friend! So one day she prepared Kavya’s favorite sweet to soothe her and find more details about her friend. She was waiting for her to come back. After some time, she came.

“Hi Sweety, you know what I prepared for you. Can you guess?”, she said by carrying her.

“Hey… mummy… I know you prepared Jamun … I like it so much”, She was very happy. Lakshmi nodded and took her to the kitchen and gave her favorite sweet Jamun. While she was eating, she asked, “Sweety, does your friend also like this sweet?”

“Yes, mummy”, she said gulping the Jamun.

Why don't you take this to your friend? She might feel very happy, Ok”, she said by giving a box to her.

“Ya, that's a good idea mummy. She feels very happy… you are very nice”, she said by taking that box.

“Will you go now? is your friend still be at the lake? “, she asked by looking at her carefully.

“Yes, she stays always there. Even she doesn’t have any friends…, so I go and give this box right now”, she said and ready to leave home.

“Ok, come quickly… and be careful alright”

“Yes… mummy and my friend feel very happy after seeing this sweet… bye”, she said and went outside.

After a few seconds, Lakshmi followed her, and she was extremely careful so that Kavya won’t notice her. When she reached the lake, she was stunned after seeing what Kavya was doing. Actually, THERE WAS NO ONE other than Kavya at that place. She was talking alone and feeding Gulab Jamun in the air!!! She was talking in such a way that someone was sitting beside her. 

Lakshmi went quickly and stood in front of Kavya and shouted, “Sweety… What are doing?”,

Kavya looked startled after seeing her.

“Mummy… Why you came? I told you shouldn’t come here... see…my friend left”, she muffled.

“Keep quiet… you don’t have any friends here... you were talking alone! “, she said in a hysteric manner.

Kavya has never seen her mother like that. She started crying, “I was talking with my friend… not talking myself… she left because you came.”

“Enough… come home”, she grabbed her hand and took her home.

When they reached home, Kavya was still crying and went inside her bedroom and closed the door. Lakshmi was terribly upset to see her kid talking alone. She waited for Hari to come home so that she could share what happened today with him.

“Oh… that is very common baby… kids sometimes behave like that… they make friendship with imaginary people… and they talk with them… so don’t make it as a big issue… take it easy”, Hari said to her when she told about what happened that day.

She didn’t expect that answer from him as she thought he would take Kavya to the doctor for a check-up.

“But… honey… it is not good behavior for anyone to talk on their own… so can we take her to the check-up?“, She is worried.

“I told you … take it easy… it’s not that big problem… alright … I’ve to take a bath”, he said and went to the bathroom.

But Lakshmi was not convinced at all; however, she wanted to keep a close eye on her daughter's actions. Her worry was doubled when Kavya one day told her that her friend came to her bedroom to talk to her since after that incident Lakshmi was not allowing Kavya to meet her.

“What did she tell to you?” she was curious to know.

“She is very angry as you are not allowing me to talk to her. She told, she would kill you… but I pleaded not to do that… she is not like before… she has changed so much… I’m afraid mummy”, she is frightened.

Lakshmi's face turned pale and terrified. She hugged her immediately, “nothing is going to happen, sweety… don’t worry … ok”, she tried to soothe her. Inside she thought, why the hell she was talking like that; she strongly determined to take her to the doctor before the situation goes out of her hands.

“I don’t understand what’s the matter with you… you are not listening to my words… we must take her to the doctor… she is behaving like a crazy girl… today she said her imaginary friend is going to kill me… do you wait until she turns to a MAD girl”, Lakshmi was shouting on Hari.

“Calm down Lakshmi… nothing is going to happen … just wait for few days everything is going to be alright”, Hari was trying to calm her.

“When… when it will happen… you don’t like to change the house...you don’t like to take her to the doctor… you don’t like anything to happen… why? I have to know today … that’s it”, she was shouting in a hysteric manner.

“No … we can't take her to any doctor… because… “,  Hari stopped and he didn’t know what else to tell.

“Because… why? why we can’t take her to the doctor? Now I’m realizing why… because you don’t like her… you don’t have any affection towards her!!!“,

Hari got angry and crunched his fist, “Don't talk nonsense… I didn’t want to take her… because there is NO HER… yes, our sweety is NO MORE … OUR KID IS DEAD!!!… when we moved here… you took her in a boat on the lake… but… that time the boat crashed to a tree and flipped. And both of you had fallen in the water… you were able to survive, but our sweety had drowned to death... “, he burst into tears.

She was shocked and looking at him unbelievably.

He continued, “after that incident… you didn’t believe that our kid is no more… you started behaving as if she is still alive and playing with us… you constructed a dream world, where our sweety lived with us and has grown up… it was you… you didn’t like to change home, because if we move to a different home.. you might recall that sweety is no more…, but you didn’t want that… you wanted to live in your dream world … and feel our sweety presence… but you don’t understand… how much torture I had gone through by seeing you like that … “, he stopped.

“No… you are telling lies… our sweety is alive… I can show you… she is sleeping… she is alive“, Lakshmi muttered and fell on the floor unconsciously.