July 16, 2015
Today we were listening to a Ghost Story during lunch. I started thinking: what if I wrote a ghost story? I'm not a big story writer. I don't know if I could write a story let alone a Ghost Story. But supposing I could write one, it would go something like this...
At the beginning...
The story would start with "Once upon a time" because I like stories that start that way. The story would tell about a Mother, a Father, a Brother, and a Sister who are close. Very close. They are a happy and loving family. Then one of the kids gets sick. And sicker. And sicker. And dies. The whole family is sad. The Father starts working all hours of the day and night to stay out of the house. The Mother starts cleaning everything in sight all day, every day. The remaining Child is very sad and won't leave the bedroom. Ever. The family moves but their sadness moves with them. Father keeps working. Mother keeps cleaning. And the remaining Child won't leave the bedroom. Ever.
And then...
As Sister is sitting in the room, staring at the wall, a Child appears in the room. Same age. Dressed a little funny. But otherwise normal. And super nice. At first, this other Child just sits there too, staring at the wall. Staring. And then leaving. Each day, the Sister and the Child sit and stare. The Child never says anything. The Sister never says anything. None-the-less, the Sister feels comforted with this Child's presence.
One day...
The Child speaks. She asks Sister, "What was his name? The Brother?" At first the Sister won't say anything. Then one day she blurts out the answer. The Child doesn't say anything. Just puts an arm around the Sister. They are sad together.
The stories begin...
The Sister starts to tell the Child all sorts of Stories about her Brother. Like the time they had a snowball fight and she got snow down the back of her Brother's neck. Like the time her Brother was scared of a spider. Like the time her Brother ambushed her in a water fight and soaked her to the bone. Like the time she scraped her knee at the playground and her Brother helped her get a band-aid. Each of these stories would be a small chapter. At the end of each chapter, the Sister would start to feel a bit better.
The Outing...
Slowly the Child convinces the Sister it's time to leave the room. That leaving the room doesn't mean leaving her Brother. That no matter what, her Brother is still Gone. But even though he's Gone, she needs to remember that he loved her and always would. Sister needs a lot of convincing. But then she goes. First to the bathroom. Then to the kitchen. Then she sits in the living room. Each time she leaves the room, she feels a little bit of her sadness lift and she feels a little more free. All the while, the Child is encouraging her. Supporting her. The Sister is now leaving the room but still won't leave the house. The
Child tells Sister she needs to leave the house. And once she does,
the Child will take her to her Brother. To see him one last time..
Expanding her world...
Finally she does it. The Sister steps out of the front door. The air is cool and crisp. The breeze seems to blow right through her. She feels free. She walks down the stairs and back. Then she walks to the sidewalk and back. Then she walks to the neighbour's walkway and back. Then she walks to the mailbox and back. After many months, she finally walks to the school and back. She watches the kids play and feels sad. But happy too. Watching the kids playing and be happy makes her realize that even though her Brother is Gone, life goes on. And life
needs to go on. When she tells the Child her feelings, the Child tells Sister she is ready. And they go.
The Family cheers up...
The Child takes Sister by the hand and they walk. They walk and they walk. It is a long way to where her Brother is. It takes days to get there. When they get to the house, Sister is confused. It isn't the house she remembers. But the Child assures her she will find her Brother inside. After much convincing, the Sister reluctantly goes inside. The first person she sees is her mother. Her Mother is cleaning like mad. At first, Mother ignores Sister. Sister asks Mother, "Where's my Brother?". Mother doesn't answer. Silly. How would Mother know?? Sister asks Mother why she's cleaning. Mother tells her she doesn't know. Sister tells Mother: "You can clean all day, you can clean all year, you can clean your whole life but nothing will ever change. You cannot clean the sadness away. You have to stop cleaning. You need to find life outside soap bucket. I love you, Mommy. It's time to move on.". Just like that, Mother puts her soap bucket away, takes off her apron, and cries floods of tears. Once she has cried out every last tear from her body, she puts on some nice clothes and goes for the first walk she has been on since the loss. Mother still feels sad, but she knows she's ready to move on. For the first time, she feels more than just sadness: she feels a little spark of light. Just then, Father comes home.
Father has bags under his eyes. His face is grey. His hair is crazy. He looks awful. He won't look at Sister. Sister asks Father, "Where's my Brother?". Father doesn't answer. Silly. How would Father know?? Sister asks Father why he's working all the time. Father tells her she doesn't know. Sister tells Father: "You can work all day, you can work all year, you can work your whole life but nothing will ever change. You cannot work the sadness away. You have to stop working. You need to find life outside the office. I love you, Daddy. It's time to move on." Just like that, Father takes off his jacket, loosens his tie, and cries floods of tears. Once he has cried out every last tear from his body, he puts on a pair of jeans and goes for the first walk he has been on since the loss. Father still feels sad, but he knows he's ready to move on. For the first time, he feels more than just sadness: he feels a little spark of light. He sees his wife also walking and he grabs her hand. She puts her head on his shoulder and they walk on together. Sister is pleased. She can see the love. She knows her parents have been through the worst and they will be okay. She feels her heart becoming light. Her own sadness is starting to lift.
Sister goes upstairs. There in the bedroom, she finds her Brother. He is sitting just staring at the wall. He doesn't move when she sits beside him. "Brother?", she says. "Brother?" Brother doesn't respond. As she did with Child all those months ago, she starts telling her brother all the stories from their childhood. The snowball fight. The spider. The water fight. The band-aid. She talks and talks and talks. Then she says, "You can sit here all day, you can sit here all year, you can sit here your whole life but nothing will ever change. You cannot sit the sadness away. You have to get out. You need to find life outside the bedroom. Outside this house. I love you Brother. We had great times together. Now you need to have great times without me. It's time to move on." Then Sister hugs her Brother. Brother starts to cry. And cry and cry and cry. He cries until he can cry no more. Then he gets up and goes out of the bedroom. He goes to the bathroom to wash his face. Then he goes to the kitchen to get a snack. He grabs his jacket from the living room. He puts on his shoes and goes to the playground. He plays and he plays and he plays. Mother and Father arrive at the park hand-in-hand. They watch Brother play and they smile. Sister is happy. She knows her family will be okay.
Going home...
As Sister watches her family at the playground, Child grabs Sister's hand and tells her it's time to go home. "What do you mean?", Sister asks, "Am I not home already?". The Child looks at Sister sadly. No, says the Child. This is not your home. This home belongs to your Mother, Father, and Brother. You need to go back to where you came from. You see, a year ago, you got sick. Very sick. You got sicker and sicker. Until you died. Right there. In your bedroom. Your family was so sad they decided to move. Your spirit stayed behind. Right there. In your bedroom. Now that you've seen your family one last time, you need to go back. Your job on earth is done. It's time for you to rest.
And so the Child walks Sister back to the house Sister has always known. Past her old school. Past the mailbox. Past her neighbour's houses. Up the familiar stairs. Through her own front door. Past the living room. Past the kitchen. Past the bathroom. To her bedroom. Sister is sad. But happy too. And ready. She thanks the Child for everything. "I'm tired now," says Sister. Then she climbs into bed and goes to sleep.
THE END
~mom
