I remember when I was little I had an imaginary friend named Car. I remember she was a ghost and lived in the kitchen closet. Funny how a ghost lived in the kitchen closet. I had another imaginary friend named Street. His big sister was named Carrot and she had orange skin and green hair from eating too many carrots. I remember I had an imaginary big sister named Curtain who had been adopted to Mars. I remember saying “The good ghosts are covered in glitter and the bad ghosts are covered in poop”. I remember dreaming about a toy bird drowning and for the longest time I thought it was real, and the most embarrassing thing ever. I remember being scared of the curtains upstairs and how things always seemed to fall off the shelves in the upstairs bathroom when no one was in it. I remember leaving things on my windowsill for the ghosts to take. I remember when my friend and I crossed the street when we weren’t supposed to, because we thought that a slide was his mom. I remember how the grown-ups came running and there were so many of them. I remember telling my little sister and saying “ And the moral of the story is never wander off”. I remember when I said I was going to a reunion with Street and the ghosts. I remember how by then I knew it wasn't real. I remember how I was always so scared of ghosts and ghost stories, but at the same time, how they were my favorite things. I remember how I dressed up as a ghost to my friend’s Star Wars party and everybody thought I was Princess Leia. I remember how I told my friend that I was going to grow up and be a cow when I was thirteen and ate grass to prove it. I remember how a family friend told me that if you looked in a mirror and said “ Bloody Mary” three times and didn't scream, she would appear in the mirror. We always screamed at the last minute. I remember when I lied about being homeschooled because I worried that people would think I spent all my time goofing off if I told them the truth. I remember jumping on the couch with my best friend chanting “We’re not afraid of a-ny-thing! Not even monsters, not even ghosts! Not even toast! Everybody’s afraid of toast!” Then we would jump off the couch and roll around on the floor laughing. I remember the laughter felt fake after the first time. I remember something else but I forget it before I can write it down. I remember when I heard a noise in my grandmother’s basement and thought it was my grandfather’s ghost playing the tuba.
A History of Me and Ghosts
