Finding Beauty

[19] - Chapter Nineteen

“Would you like some peppermint tea dear?” Mary Anne asked me as soon as I sat down on her comfortable beige colored sofa.

I smiled at her kindly, “Yes please.”

“Okay,” She replied to me and then turned her head. “Gregory, please fix me up two cups of peppermint tea!”

“Sure thing, Mary Anne, I’ll have it fixed up in a jiffy!” An elderly man hollered back which I assumed was Gregory and probably her husband. And with that, she turned back to face me and smiled. Putting a lock of her gray hair behind her ear, she crossed her legs and turned to me.

“So what brings you here for some advice?”

I took a deep breath and told myself to tell her everything. She knew what she was doing after all, she was a survivor. “I have an insecurity ghost myself.”

Mary Anne stared at me in horror which wasn’t comforting at all but then she tossed me a reassured smile, “Oh baby, I’m so sorry to hear that. But don’t you worry bits; you can get rid of her without getting rid of yourself.”

“I can’t even figure out why she was here in the first place,” I explained with a sigh as I ran my fingers through my hair. “She keeps taunting me about this and then she tells me, I’m so close but I’ll never figure it out.”

“Once you figure it out, you’ll obtain the key of getting rid of her,” Mary Anne replied back with a nod. “It isn’t easy however, so can you please tell me the whole story? How did she come to you?”

I hesitated, I remembered when she first came to me and tears were in my eyes but they wouldn’t fall. I took a deep breath and tried to open my mouth, but fear left me with no words. “Take your time sweetie,” She said to me as she placed her hand on my knee comfortingly.

I nodded and took another deep breath. Just tell her McKenzie, you won’t have to bear the feeling of being alone in this mess. “Okay,” I sighed as I looked at my fingernails, “I’m ready to tell you.”

She nodded at me with a gentle smile. “Alright, I won’t interrupt you. In fact, we’ll wait for Gregory to come in here with the two cups of tea so you can feel more comfy.” A moment later, Gregory marched into the living room and placed the two cups of tea on the table.

Gregory turned to me and smiled nicely. “Careful, it’s hot.”

I nodded at his comment politely and with that, he placed a short kiss on Mary Anne’s cheek and departed. As soon as he left, Mary Anne picked her cup of tea, blew on it lightly, and sipped it. “Yum, extra peppermint is always delicious,” She mumbled with a laugh.

I giggled at her reference and picked up the tea to try it for myself. It was delicious; the sweet yet cleansing feeling of peppermint invaded my taste buds.  Smiling, I put the cup back and then I remembered what she asked me to tell her. Mary Anne put her own cup of tea down now and was now giving me her undivided attention. Sighing, I glanced down at my fingernails and closed my eyes. Here I go. “My ghost came when I almost killed myself. It was because I was getting bullied frequently. When my friend Stefanie was here, the bullying died off and no one really messed with me. However when she moved away, my life went up in the flames. Not only this, but I was insecure. Still am, but then I was super insecure since bullying made it worse. My parents also ignored me most of the time.

They never really talk to me, it’s always ‘No, not right now sweetie’ and ‘Sorry but I have too much paperwork right now’. They are always gone on business trips and they are never really home so no one could really help me. Anyway, I cut myself on the day when I tried to kill myself.  I also got upset about Stefanie because of all of the drama, but I decided to live for her.