From FRIENDS FOR LIFE:Francis had not wanted company, but he was curious. Why had she come across the field to sit beside him? Why had she not spoken? And why was she apparently immune to the cold? "You might want some of this," he said, holding out his mug. "It's only tea, but it's warm." The girl turned to face him, then turned her head in the opposite direction, as if to see who he was talking to. When she realized there was nobody else, and that he must have been talking to her, a look of shocked surprise crossed her face. "Are you . . . are you talking to me?" she asked. "Sorry." Francis withdrew the offered mug. "Won't happen again." "You can hear me as well?" "Yes," said Francis. "Sorry about that, too." The girl frowned. "But nobody can see me! Or hear me!" "Can't they?" "Unless . . ." The girl peered at him intently. "You're not dead as well, are you?" "I don't think so." "I don't understand . . ." The girl was still staring at him. "You're . . . um . . . you're dead yourself, are you?" Francis tried to keep a casual tone in his voice as he packed his thermos into his bag. "What? Oh . . . yes." As if to illustrate her point, the girl lifted an arm and ran it through the planks that made up the back of the bench as if they had no more substance than smoke. "But I don't understand why you can see me. I mean . . . nobody can!" Excerpted from Friends for Life by Andrew Norriss All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.