Open Closet
I was certain I had closed my closet before I left, so someone must have opened it behind my back, which meant someone had been in my bedroom, which—
Something rattled inside.
I hesitated just long enough to wonder if this was a wise move, but then opened the closet doors all the way. Inside was a slightly transparent, skeleton-shaped ghost, folded into a seat on the bottom shelf with both arms around the knees, peeking up towards me.
“The world outside is just too bright and noisy and fast—too alive!” they blurted out.
“Yeah, mood,” I said, perching down next to them.
“It’s probably best if I never leave the closet again and don’t take up space in the world of the living,” the ghost said sadly.
“Nah,” I said, gently bumping against their bony shoulder, “it’s fine to take a breather—well, you know what I mean—in a safe space like this, but we’d better make the best of our time in this sphere, right? We can go out together next time and remind one another we deserve to be there whenever we want to, no matter what the dark spectres in our minds keep whispering.”
The ghost smiled its skeleton grin and said quietly: “I’d like that.”
—
[Image description: Photo of the bottom of a bright orange metal cabinet of which the doors are slightly open. Beneath it lies grey carpet.]
