it’s only because he means well

I’ve mentioned our boggart several times, a harmless but irritating creature – no, irritating is putting it too strongly because when things go awry it’s only because he means well. In case you haven’t come across a boggart, he’s a small helpful being who lives in the corners of people’s houses; the only slight problem is often his well-meaning activities don’t quite work out as he intended, hence you might your keys in an unexpected place,  crumbs where you don’t expect them and lights left on when you’re sure you turned them off. Our boggart returned the slipper he had been looking after, I found it in the airing-cupboard, but he still has a pair of my jeans and belt somewhere.

Yesterday, as I was heading to the paper shop, a friend, Viv was coming up the road and I stopped and waited for her and we continued to walk together, chatting about this and that. I stopped as I noticed something tucked against the hedge, bent and picked it up and it was someone’s bank card. In fact, it was Viv’s bank card! She knew she’d mislaid it but thought it had been in a drawer at home, or a jacket pocket, or in the car, or a desk drawer. However, to me it was perfectly obvious, her boggart had been looking after it for her, then realising she was going to the shop without it, had sneaked it onto the path by the hedge for her to pick up.

“Silly me!” Viv exclaimed, “I must have dropped it here yesterday!”

I assured her that in fact it was probably her own boggart being helpful. She hadn’t heard of boggarts before, so I had to tell her all about them. She was just grateful that she now had her card with her.

Later that day I came home and waiting on the doorstep was nice gift, a thank you from her ‘bogurt’, he’d written a little note in his wobbly boggart handwriting. A kindly, well-meaning soul, Viv’s bogurt!