The Boy and the Unseen Guest

My daughter, who is five, sometimes talks about a shadow that only she can see. I never paid it much mind, as her stories about it were always changing.

One afternoon, I walked into her room and found her standing by her fishbowl. The air was thick with the smell of my expensive lotion. I saw the nearly empty bottle in her hand and the cloudy water. I was very angry, as she knows the fishbowl is not a toy.

She began to cry, saying she was sorry over and over. When I asked her why she would do such a thing, she pointed to the empty corner of the room. She said the shadow told her to do it, that it gives her naughty instructions she has to follow. I told her firmly that the shadow is not allowed here and must leave our home. My daughter looked at the corner sadly and whispered.