Benji

Whistling low, a cold wind rattled the window in its frame, causing a young boy to stir in his sleep.

“Hello?” he called out wearily. He was quiet for a moment before the wind answered his call with another pane-ratting whistle. “It’s just the wind, Benji,” he said to himself, pulling his thinning quilt tightly around him.

The window continued to shudder loudly and Benji felt sleep quickly escaping him. He shut his eyes tight, begging sleep to come back, but it was useless. He flipped onto his back, sighing, and staring at the dark ceiling above. Benji knew his mother would be upset if he slept late tomorrow, yet it wasn’t his fault that the windows were so loud.

The window clacked noisily again and Benji kicked off his blankets. He grabbed a shirt off the floor and stormed over to the window. As he began to shove the shirt in the crack at the bottom of the window, something caught his attention. He peered out into the darkness at the line of trees beyond the crooked fence below. A dancing blue light appeared briefly before darting back into the darkness of the forest.

Benji rubbed his eyes and peered out again, but saw nothing. He frowned slightly before shaking the window to ensure the shirt would stop its rattle. Satisfied, he took one more glance at the treeline below before yawning wide and returning to bed.

Benji pulled the quilt over himself and felt the cold of the room slowly melt away. He yawned again, closing his eyes, ready for a good sleep. His mind began to fill with numbing thoughts, drifting sweetly into a dreamland before –

The window rattled loudly as the wind let out a low howl. Benji turned his head, frowning, to see the shirt still sticking out from under the window. His brow furrowed as he stood and walked over to it. He heard the wind howl again, yet this time, the window didn’t make a sound. His breath caught in his throat, his bare feet absorbing the cold of the floor as he peered out of the window.

A face was staring back at him, causing him to fall backwards over one of his toys, which ultimately saved him from yelling out. Benji stared at the window, wide-eyed. Behind the glass was a glowing blue creature with dark eyes and soft round features. It didn’t appear to have arms or legs but rather something akin to a blue dress that swayed gently.

Benji got back up, still staring at the creature, worrying that if he took his eyes from it, it would disappear. “A-are you a ghost?” he choked out. The creature just looked at him, curiosity filling its blank face. “Who are you?” Benji asked, finding his voice. The creature cocked its head to one side. “I’m Benji. I...I live here now. If you’re a ghost. We could be friends, it’s okay.”

The creature raised an invisible eyebrow then pressed its face closer to the glass to look around the room.

“This is my room,” Benji said. “I keep some of my toys here. Mum doesn’t like it when I leave my toys on the floor, so I’m sorry that it’s messy...but I can clean it. Maybe you could play with me?”

The creature pulled back and a wide smile appeared on its face, jagged fangs stretching the entire length. Benji felt fear grip hold of him, freezing him in place. The creature stopped smiling immediately with an apologetic look. Benji’s heart was beating loudly in his ears and he felt his lungs begin to wheeze. This sudden panic got him to turn and find his inhaler on his bedside table. He grabbed it and took a deep puff of it, feeling his breathing immediately become easier.

Benji quickly looked back and felt his heart sink as the creature was no longer there. He ran back to the window and peered out, pulling himself up to see more of the yard below. The creature suddenly flew up from beneath the sill and Benji stifled a laugh.

“Oh, there you are.” He smiled. “I should give you a name, unless you have one?” The creature just looked at him. “I think I’ll call you...Nessie. After my dog. She died a few days ago. She was a great dog.”

The creature flipped backwards effortlessly in the air, as though it were a skilful trapeze artist, and pressed itself against the glass again.

“Would you like to come in?” Benji said, beginning to pull the shirt from the window. The creature nodded, flipping and twirling about in the air. “Okay, just one sec.”

Benji went across the room and dragged his desk chair to the window. He climbed onto it, threw the shirt to the floor, before reaching high to unlock the window. He pushed the window open and the ghost flew in.

The ghost – if that’s what it was – seemed curious as it surveyed the room. It flew to study some toys on the floor, then to Benji’s desk where his half-finished homework lay in a pile. It looked back at him briefly with a soft grin before continuing its study.

“What do you want to play first? I can’t play too long because I need to –”

The creature then began to bounce around the room, knocking toys and furniture to the floor.

“Stop it!” Benji whispered loudly. “You’ll wake mum up! Please stop!”

The creature ignored him, smashing a lamp and pushing over a chest of drawers. Benji ran at it and grabbed its blue skirt.

It stopped and turned back to him. The smile slowly appeared on its lips again and Benji felt fear seize him.

“BENJI YOU BRAT!” a fierce woman’s voice hollered from the bottom of the stairwell. “When I get up there, you better be dead or bleedin’!” Heavy footsteps crunched against the stairs and pushed opened the door. A mammoth of a woman filled up the door frame. Her flashy pink satin nightgown looked ethereal against the decaying wallpaper and greying wood around her. The faux fur at the bottom of the dress brushed softly against the floor, sweeping up the dust and causing the clean vibrant white to turn dull. She glanced once around the room before frowning.

“Benji?”