Evie glances at the parents
in the front seat:
“Why did the ghost write to you?
Why not me? Or Blas? Or anyone else?
What makes you special?”
Doogie the Ghost
gave me one insight:
“you’re not that special
you were willing to help me
anybody can”
“Wanted to be helpful, I guess.”
she frowns:
“I like to be helpful.”
flop my hand on Mr. Crunch’s head:
“You were a big help.”
“Like how exactly?”
“Remember when we were searching
for the cell phone and battery?”
“Yeah.”
she fingers scratches on her arms
from diving into bushes
hide my mouth behind my hand:
“You—you were sort of possessed.
By the ghost.”
Evie blinks
narrows her eyes:
“What?”
“Doogie’s voice somehow
came out of your face. You—
she said to save Austin.”
her face blanks
she clutches her throat
rolls back her eyes
I hold my breath
she shakes her head:
“Nope. Don’t remember anything.
But I believe you.”
we’re not that special
yet somehow unique
a tiny bit weird
a tiny bit freak
inquisitive twins
and one creepy lake
a sweet little pup
a rowboat namesake
we rescued a kid
with help from a ghost
and made two new friends
I don’t wanna boast
Evie’s smile glows
in the backseat
as she brushes
Mr. Crunch’s fluff
cell phone buzzes
Blas animated his blue head drawing
with a blue thumbs up
can’t wait to find out
where we go next year
for summer vacation
maybe I can help
some(one) (thing) again
pull my Diamondbacks
baseball cap over my face
wait for a pleasant dream
to wash over me
like the warm waters of
Lake Lucy.