Trixie's neighbour Lallani sounded quite distraught and in such a bad mood that Trixie decided to pay her a visit to check on her wellbeing and what was upsetting her so much. Trixie felt that it was the least she could do since they have been neighbours for ever so long and had become friends over the years. On inquiring from Lallani what was upsetting her so much, she ushered Trixie to her patio and whispered that her fifteen year old granddaughter was very unhappy and depressed, and hence the reason for her being in such a state. Once the tea was brought out, Lallani poured out the cause of her dear granddaughter's depression. 

Like most children in their mid-teens, her granddaughter had developed a crush over a young lad about her same age. Since it seemed a passing crush and also because the families knew each other they did not interfere with the friendship and encouraged the two to be open about their goings on and even allowed them to visit each other in their respective homes. The young lad was a sportsman and the granddaughter used to go to watch the matches he played in. 

Lallani' s granddaughter, Tessa, was a sweet girl with a jolly young spirit. She was also a bit on the plump side. It seemed that the young man's friends, including a frisky aunt of his, had teased the boyfriend about Tessa being a sweet girl but because she was fat and they thought her unsuitable for him. The constant teasing had made its mark on the boy and after some time he had blurted out to Tessa that their friendship had to cease since his friends, and especially his aunt, thought her to be a 'little fatty' and, therefore, not a match for him. Tessa was so crushed and brokenhearted that she had started to starve herself, which had led into a depression. Her mother had dropped her off at the grandmother's during the holidays since she was passionately fond of her and they felt that the grandmother would be able cheer her up and get her out of the depression. 

We hear of similar stories where people succeed in influencing people, especially those in their early impressionable years who are not geared to handle bullying and rejection. The victims end up developing complexes and depression in their early years, and in some instances even thought of suicide. It is a fact that the number of suicides in this country seems to be increasing among the younger generation arising from being subjected to bullying about their looks, intelligence and even sexual orientation. 

As a responsible adult one must know what to say to children, as one never knows where it will end, sometimes even damaging them for life psychologically.