Making friends with the ghost in your attic brings you many benefits, as well as faults… When I first laid eyes on the ghost, my initial reaction wasn’t fear, but curiosity. His name was Ben, and he appeared to me in a soldiers uniform. He was older than me, but only just. Through him, I learned so much about the Second World War. Things school never taught us. The war became an interest of mine, and when I did projects at school I excelled. My grades were remarkable and I began to excel in school. My parents were thrilled, wondering if I’d grow up to be a historian. I went to see Ben everyday. He seemed thrilled to have the company, it was as if he was gaining back some of the life he lost due to the war. We were so a like, and got on like a house on fire!

The downside is that as our interactions become more frequent, I became obsessed. I had to see him everyday. He was my best friend. This is where my problems started. Without realising, I had pushed everyone away. My parents saw the change in my behaviour, and one night followed me up into the attic; they saw me talking to Ben. Unfortunately for me, they were unable to see him. From their perspective, I was taking to the air. It all went quite downhill for me from here. My parents forced me to the doctors and once they became involved things became difficult for me.

I desperately tried to return to the attic to speak to Ben, but my parents locked the door. One day I got so angry, I tried to kick the door down and things became... heated. This exchange landed me in hospital as an inpatient. After 28 days I was released back home, and I went straight to the attic to see Ben. To my dismay, he was nowhere to be seen. I refused to believe it was all in my head, but after more time passed without a glimpse of my friend, I began to experience major doubts. Was Ben really a figment of my imagination?

Weeks went by without Ben, and I began to pick up the pieces of my old life. Friends came back and things were steadily getting back to normal. Everyone was relived. I began to feel happy until one night, when I lay in bed attempting to sleep, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I tried to ignore it, but when I saw it again, I looked. Ben stood beside me, waving. My heart sank. Was I insane? I no longer knew…