The Land of the Living

I smiled as Hope played with the family dog, Barky. The five-year-old shaped her hand like a claw, then slowly moved it toward Barky’s snout. The dachshund stood perfectly still, his wiener-dog shape a black and brown statue. Hope’s hand moved toward the dog, Barky’s eyes tracking the target but head remaining motionless. With a giggle, Hope inched closer, and closer, and closer, and—

Barky moved with lightning speed, his mouth opening, white teeth gleaming as his pink tongue shot out to lick the girl’s hand.

Hope giggled and tried to pull her hand back, but was too slow. The tongue made short work of her palm, the dog’s tail wagging excitedly.

My smile grew even bigger, but when I looked down at my hand, I found the living room carpet showing through my pale skin. My grin faded as I remembered what I was . . . a ghost.

Sixty years ago, before I died, I used to take care of kids just like Hope. I babysat for all the parents on this street. In fact, I lived in this home so many years ago, when I was alive. But now, I was an invisible spectator viewing the lives of the Living through my all-white eyes, forever separate and unnecessary. Hope did not know I was here, but regardless of how sad that made me, I felt as if I loved the little girl and would do anything for her.

I sighed and turned to stare out the window. Gray clouds stretched from horizon to horizon, blocking out the bright sun and blue sky, a perfect day for a ghost. The Land of the Dead can be a cruel place sometimes, but it’s better than the alternative . . . the Void.

A ghost stepped through the front door and shuddered.

“Hi Mateo, are you okay?” I asked.

My only friend in the Land of the Dead, Mateo, stood next to the door and rubbed at his arms as if he were freezing. “Hi Demi. Yeah, I’m okay. I just hate going through solid things. It feels like I’m being frozen but from the inside.”

I nodded. “I know what you mean. I wish the Living could just leave all their doors open.”

Mateo chuckled. “Not likely. They don’t trust anyone.”

He stepped into the living room and kept rubbing his arms.

“I thought we were meeting up later tonight,” I said. “Why are you here now?”

“I heard some distressing things.” Mateo came closer, then sat on the sofa.

I moved next to him and saw worry carved into his pale face. “What’s happened?”

“Nothing . . . yet, but ghosts are talking. They say some evil ghosts have taken the Leap of Faith from the Spirit World and are now here on Earth.”

I sat back for a moment, stunned. “How is that possible? I thought the negative energy of evil ghosts made it impossible for them to take the Leap.”

Mateo shrugged. “I don’t know, but evil ghosts have been spotted throughout Salem. They’re easy to recognize because of their black eyes. Many are calling them dark-eyes.”

“Dark-eyes.” I shuddered as I looked up at Mateo. His eyes were completely white, as were mine and every other ghost; apparently, that’s not true anymore.

“I heard some talking about one of them,” Mateo said. “They call him the Judge, and he seems to be the one in charge.” He leaned closer to me. “Demi, he’s after particular ghosts.”

“Really . . . why?”

Mateo shrugged. “He’s hunting spirits who were witches in the Land of the Living.”

“Witches?” I glanced at Hope, then turned to Mateo.

He, too, had his eyes on the young girl.

“I can see the tiny flicker of power within the child,” Mateo said, pointing at Hope. “Demi, I know you can see it too. If the dark-eyes are searching for ghost-witches, eventually, they’ll turn their attention to witches in the Land of the Living. I have no doubt they’ll find the kid.”

“Maybe they won’t notice her.” Fear for Hope gnawed on my bones, making me shake. “It’s so faint, and you see it only because I pointed it out. The witchcraft in Hope lays dormant and hasn’t been awakened yet. Someone in her family, maybe one of her grandparents, must be a witch, and their powers were passed down to her. But right now, Hope is not a threat to the dark-eyes.”

“I don’t think the Judge will care.” Mateo stood and stepped toward Hope. Instantly, Barky sat up and stared at the ghost, then barked, his tail swishing back and forth. He turned and faced me. “Are you sure you want to be here when the dark-eyes come knocking?” Mateo moved away from the dog and sat next to me again. “Demi, you might be considered guilty of being a ghost-witch just by associating with a living one.” He put a hand on mine. “I know you haven’t left this house for a long time, but—”

“But I need to be here to watch after Hope.” My words came out angry, as if Mateo had accused me of hiding out here rather than being with other ghosts.

“Hope doesn’t even know you exist,” Mateo said. “Demi, there are other ghosts in the Land of the Dead for you to meet. You don’t have to hide here anymore.”

“I’m not hiding.” I glared at my friend.

“Well . . . whatever. You’ve been warned.” Mateo stood and headed for the door. Before passing through the wooden barrier, he turned and faced me. “Be safe, Demi, and be smart.”

Before I could answer, he wrapped his arms around himself, and walked through the front door. I stared at the wall as I processed what Mateo told me, then sat and watched Hope. Her giggles floated through the room like a cloud of butterflies taking flight. Usually, Hope’s laughter would have lightened my heart, but after Mateo’s news, a gray fog had wrapped itself around my soul.

“The Judge.” The words felt cold and jagged on my lips. An icy chill spread down my spine when I thought about something happening to Hope. I knelt next to the girl and stared at her. Barky looked up at me, then flipped over on his back, his soft, brown eyes begging me to rub his belly.

“You’re silly, Barky,” Hope said as she scratched the dog’s stomach. She reached an end table, grabbed a bright-red, sugar-free candy from a bowl, and popped it into her mouth with a grin.

I moved closer to the girl and saw goosebumps slowly spread down her right arm. Hope looked at the tiny bumps and rubbed them away with her other hand.

“Don’t worry, Hope. I’ll keep you safe.”

I walked to the front door and passed through it, shivering on the other side. I glanced around and saw other ghosts in the neighborhood; many of them seemed surprised to see me. They waved and called to me, but I ignored them. Instead, I patrolled the perimeter of the house, looking for threats.

“No ghost is getting in without dealing with me first.” I clenched my fists as I patrolled the lot.

Everything seemed normal as I circled the house, ghost families enjoying the day, ghost couples walking hand-in-hand down the street, ghost children chasing each other . . . Fortunately, I only saw white eyes on the ghosts; nothing evil showed on their faces.

Inside the house, a high-pitched voice tried to sing the lyrics to Here Comes the Sun; Hope’s parents had been playing a lot of Beatles recently. With a sigh of relief, I went upstairs and waited in Hope’s bedroom as the normal bedtime ritual played itself out. As the mom finished tucking her daughter in, I spotted something moving near the window. Swerving around the parents, and I crept toward the window, ready to see an evil ghost staring at me from the other side. But there was nothing, only a . . .

Spider!

A spider crawled across the windowsill.

I hate spiders!

A black widow spider had bitten me when I was a kid. The spider’s venom made me extremely sick, and since then, spiders have terrified me. They scare me more than anything.

I stepped back and moved to the foot of Hope’s bed, my eye still on the terrible bug.

Her mom pulled the covers up over Hope, and the parents went downstairs. In minutes, Hope was fast asleep, her SpongeBob SquarePants nightlight painting the walls with a soft blue brush. Her favorite stuffed animal, a bright pink elephant named Pinky, lay clutched under one arm, a fuzzy platypus named Perry under the other.

As she slept, I looked around the room. Hope’s many drawings decorated the walls, every work of crayon-art different in subject and color. She had quite the imagination.

I sat in the corner, watching the door and window, ready for anything that might try to come in. But instead of a dark-eyed ghost charging into the room, an eerie sensation seeped through the walls. My skin crawled as the feeling of something cold and damp slithered across my flesh. My arms prickled with goosebumps as a cold sweat crept down my neck.

Something evil had entered the room.

I stood and scanned the dark corners, but found nothing. Stepping through the walls, I checked the rest of the house. Everyone was asleep, and I was the only ghost in the home, as usual.

A moan glided through the house. It was the high-pitched sound of someone in distress.

“Hope!”

I sped up the stairs and moved into her room. Hope still lay in her bed, but her contorted face suggested she was suffering. Her eyes darted left and right, Hope’s skin pale and cold.

“They know she’s here, and they’re attacking, but not from the Land of the Dead. The Judge’s assault is coming from the Land of Dreams.”

I knew ghosts could enter a person’s dreams, but everyone thought it an evil thing to do. If a ghost were strong enough, they could move into the dreams of a living person and try to take over, possessing them. It was the only thing a ghost could do to feel alive again, but it was considered unforgivable. No ghost ever dared to mess with a person’s dreams; the punishment was just too great . . . the Void. But someone was trying it with Hope.

I knelt next to her bed and wanted to hold her hand, but I knew Hope’s flesh would just pass through me.

Hope moaned again, the girl’s body thrashing about for a moment as if in pain.

“I won’t let anyone hurt you, Hope,” I said. “I’m coming to help you.”

I laid on the ground next to Hope’s bed and closed my eyes. Concentrating, I allowed myself to rise into the air until I floated next to the girl. I drifted sideways, my body overlapping with hers. With a final push, I threw myself at Hope’s mind.

The Land of Dreams

It felt like being sucked down a drain. I spiraled through the darkness, my head dizzy. The blackness around me felt so complete, it was as if something covered my eyes. I reached up to my face, but just as I touched it, the gloom disappeared, revealing a strange landscape.

I stood amidst a group of colorful trees, one a bright red, the next orange, and another royal blue, the color of candies Hope liked to eat. A silvery mist swirled about on the ground, the moist fog caressing my ankles like an affectionate cat. Rolling hills emerged from the fog like the humps of a sea serpent gliding through mirrored waters. Fluorescent-green grass covered the mounds, colorful flowers adding splashes of color here and there like candies on scoops of emerald ice cream. Up ahead, a mountain stood guard over the world, multi-hued trees and grass covering its surface.

I stepped forward, unsure where I’d find Hope.

“She must be here, somewhere,” I said to no one. “But how do I find her so I can keep her—”

The world shuddered like flesh when jabbed with a needle. The mountain shook violently for a moment. Trees ripped from their roots and tumbling down the slopes. As I watched, the color seeped away from the landscape, leaving it bleached and pale as a toy left too long in the sun. Whatever was happening, it was on that mountain.

“That must be where I’ll find Hope.”

Fear rippled through me as I ran for the mountain, the silvery mist swirling out from under my feet. But as I ran, the peak seemed to stay just as far away. I wasn’t making any progress.

“This is the Land of Dreams,” I said to myself. “The rules are different here.”

I stared up at the mountain peak, then imagined myself up there. Instantly, I moved at the speed of thought and appeared on the summit. Before me, Hope lay in her bed, awake, her eyes wide with fear. Her elephant and platypus both glared at her with midnight-black eyes. A dark halo floated around each animal, the cloud of jagged shadows and spikey shapes making the evil animals seem even more dangerous.

“Let us into your mind,” the pink elephant said. “I am Pinky, your favorite. You can trust me.”

“No, I am your favorite,” Perry said, his orange bill clicking with every word.

“This is a nightmare . . . it’s a nightmare,” Hope said, tears welling up in her eyes.

Pinky chuckled. “It is indeed a nightmare, but it will never end until you surrender to us.”

“The Judge wants you.” Perry slapped his beaver-like tail on Hope’s leg.

“Ouch . . . I wanna go home. Mommy!” Hope’s voice echoed across the landscape, but of course, her parents heard nothing. 

I stepped forward and pointed at the stuffed animals. “Leave Hope alone.”

The two stuffed animals turned to me, their dark eyes like bottom pits of hate.

“I won’t let you hurt my friend.” I pointed at the stuffed animals, but somehow, I knew a single ghost, a dark-eyes, controlled them.

Pinky laughed. “You know nothing about the Land of Dreams.”

Perry jumped off Hope’s bed and moved a few steps closer to me. “I’ll enjoy sending you to the Void; then, the child will be mine.”

“We’ll see.”

I clenched my fists, ready for a fight, but the platypus closed its eyes instead of attacking. A crack zigzagged across the ground as the world shook. Long, curved talons pushed through the gap and grabbed hold of the mountain’s flesh. They pushed outward, widening the crack until it looked like a bottomless crevasse reaching into darkness. The claws turned into monstrous hands, then became hairy arms until, finally, a terrible head rose from the opening.

“Meet our little friend,” Pinky said, a vile edge to the elephant’s voice.

The monster crawled out of the fissure and faced me. It was massive, with mottled black and gray skin, thick arms, and muscular legs. The creature had only one eye at the center of its head and a mouth filled with dagger-like teeth.

“Polyphemus?” I said, thinking about the famous book.

Hope stared up at the cyclops and whimpered, her fear turning to panic.

The monster clenched a fist, then brought it down at me as if squashing a bug. I thought of the space behind a nearby tree . . . and I was there, the monster’s fist crashing into the ground. The mountain quaked from the impact.

I had to do something. With my hand against the tree, I looked for a solution. Rubbing my fingers against the unusually smooth bark, I thought of an idea. The image of my family playing baseball in the park when I was alive popped into my head.

With all my strength, no, not strength but thought, I grabbed the tree and pulled it from the ground. It tore free as if I were pulling a weed in a garden. The cyclops stared at me, hungry rage filling its one eye. It took a step closer, then another and another and . . .

I swung the tree like a baseball bat. It struck the cyclops and exploded in a shower of orange leaves. The cyclops tumbled down the mountainside. Its terrible claws scratched at the ground, trying to stop its fall, but I had hit the monster hard, and it was plummeting too fast to get a grip. The creature finally collided with a massive tree at the bottom of the mountain, monster and tree shattering as if made of glass.

Quiet sobs came from Hope’s bed. I glanced toward her but only saw a lump hiding under the covers, the Wonder Woman sheets shaking ever so slightly.

“Give up this foolish resistance, child,” Perry said, the stuffed animal’s voice now deep and scratchy. “We’re not afraid to hurt you, brat. You will be ours.”

I ran to her bed. “I’m coming, Hope.”

Before I could reach her, Pinky closed his dark eyes and pointed his trunk up into the sky. A blood-red dragon appeared overhead, its leathery wings stretched wide, inky-black eyes focused on me. The creature bellowed a terrible roar, aimed, then shot a ball of fire right at me. I thought to the left and materialized a few yards away. A rain of fire pounded the spot where I’d been standing, the ground glowing with heat.

I thought about the giraffe poster in Hope’s room. Instantly, a tall, cartoon-like giraffe appeared, its neck unusually long. The animal opened its mouth and clamped onto the dragon’s wing. I imagined a waterfall spilling over the edge of the mountain. The giraffe jumped into the surging water, pulling the dragon into its churning depths.

Another monster appeared, this one a giant peanut standing on eight long tentacles. The beast stood at least twelve feet tall and probably weighed five hundred pounds. It pounded one of its squishy tentacles on the ground, causing cracks to spread across the mountaintop.

“How do I stop that thing?” I said in a low voice. “I’m running out of ideas.”

I summoned the giraffe again, but the peanut-monster sliced it in half with one of its tentacles. The two halves fell to away, stuffing from the wound clumping onto the ground. I reached for another tree, but the octo-nut pulled them up and tossed them off the peak. I moved away from Hope, drawing the monster with me, but I was running out of room.

“What do I do?” I glanced at Hope, then thought myself next to her bed. “Hope, I need your help. I’ve run out of ideas.”

“I wanna go home.”

“I know, sweetie, but first, we have to deal with these monsters.” I pulled the sheet back, revealing the girl’s terrified face. “You probably don’t know it, but I’ve been watching over you since your birth. I know how creative you are because I’ve seen you draw countless pictures of creatures, people, and scenes. I especially like that one of the castle with—”

“With the princess?”

I nodded. “Yes, with the princess. The princess is you, isn’t it?”

The ground shook; the monster was getting closer.

Hope nodded as tears welled up in her eyes.

“The only way I can save you is if you let me into your mind.” I reached out and took her hand in mine . . . I could feel it! In the Land of Dreams, I could feel Hope’s skin; it felt wonderful.

A tear moistened my eye. I glanced over my shoulder and saw the monster getting closer, Pinky and Perry laughing with evil delight.

“I promise I won’t stay in your head, but right now, I must have your body and your mind. If we don’t do that . . . I don’t know what will happen, but it won’t be good.” I moved my face closer to hers. “Please, Hope . . . please.”

The young girl looked at my white eyes, then nodded.

Excellent! I thought. I pushed myself into Hope’s soul with all my might until I filled every gap with my ghostly presence. When I felt her let go and accept me, I flooded into her, suddenly feeling alive again.

Hope and I were one.

I could feel her hands, feet, hair, and everything. I had a body that had been gone for sixty years, and now it was back.

The massive peanut slammed a tentacle onto the ground, snapping me out of my joy.

The thought of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich appeared in my head. Instantly, two enormous pieces of bread appeared right behind the octo-nut. A massive jar materializing above the gigantic nut. The cap unscrewed itself, disappeared, then the jar tipped over, spilling jelly onto the nut. The pieces of bread slammed together in an explosion of strawberry jam, smoke billowing in the air. The blast sounded like a clap of thunder, making our ears hurt. When the smoke cleared, the octo-nut was gone.

The stuffed animals conjured a nine-foot-tall ninja, complete with two swords.

We formed a giant in thick armor, a colossal warhammer in its grip. The giant brought the hammer down upon the ninja, driving him into the ground like a nail.

A group of zombies rose out of the ground and approached. The smell of their decaying flesh almost made us gag, but we stayed focused. Hope’s computer popped into our head, and we knew what we needed. A boxy creature of green and black appeared behind the zombie horde. It had four short feet, a square body, and a cube for a head, a permanent frown on its face. The creature scurried to the center of the zombie formation, then stopped and started to glow. The monsters turned on our creature and tried to destroy it, but it was too late. The creeper exploded, obliterating the mob.

Pinky and Perry moved closer to us, a look of complete hatred in their dark eyes. The elephant stared at me for a long moment as if it were looking within me. Pinky smiled, then stepped back. Out of the crack in the ground rose a flood of spiders, each the size of a small dog.

My concentration snapped as I watched my personal nightmare approach, their multi-faceted insect eyes staring directly at me. I couldn’t hold on to Hope any longer; my grip on her soul completely severed. I went from feeling alive to being a ghost again, the echo of the wonderful experience fading quickly from my mind.

The spiders drew closer.

My lips trembled as I took in short, raspy breaths. I wanted to run, but my feet felt heavy, glued to the ground. Sweat ran down my face, the moisture burning as it found my eyes. I tried to wipe the beads away, but I couldn’t move. Panic at taken root in my mind, its tendrils stretching throughout my body and taking command of everything.

The first spider charged and knocked me to the ground. I screamed, but nothing came out. It sank its teeth into my arm. I shook, trying to dislodge the monsters, but it held on tight. Another spider crawled onto me and grabbed hold of a leg. It bit through my pants, causing more pain to burst into life, the agony surging through my body.

“Get off her,” Hope said. “She’s my friend.”

“When we’re done with her, my spiders will turn on you,” Perry said. “Surrender to us, and this will end.”

“Never . . . you’re just a bully.”

More spiders crawled onto me and attacked. I moaned and tried to push them away, but I could no longer move. Panic ruled my body.

“I will not allow this!” A burst of light erupted from Hope’s chest, startling the spiders for a moment.

Hope lunged toward the two stuffed animals, her hands growing larger and larger. She grabbed Pinky by the trunk and Perry by the bill. Using them as hammers, she smashed the spiders on the ground. The two stuffed animals cried out in pain as the dark auras around their heads waver.

She smashed more of the spiders with the stuffed animals, then picked up a foot and made it grow larger and larger, her imagination working overtime. She stomped on the spiders while swinging the  animals at any creatures trying to flee.

“This is my dream. You can’t have it!” Hope screamed, then brought Pinky and Perry close to her face. “Get out . . . get out now!”

A beam of light burst from her chest and struck the two stuffed animals, turning each to smoldering ash. At her feet, the shadow of a ghost formed on the ground, a stain of evil burned into the mountain top. The last of the spiders disappeared as the evil ghost’s vile energy finally evaporated, the dark-eyes sent to the Void.

As the panic faded from my head, I stood and rushed to Hope.

“Are you okay?” I asked, wrapping my arms around her.

“I think I want to wake up now.” Hope looked up at me, her blue eyes growing brighter and brighter and . . .

I woke up in her room, lying on the ground next to Hope’s bed. As I stood, I could sense my ghostly body again, the pale skin feeling lifeless and numb. Pinky lay on the ground at my feet. I reached down, but my hand just passed through the toy, of course.

“Things might go back to how they were with me alone in this house, but I don’t care.” I looked down at Hope, and a feeling of warmth spread through my heart. “I love you, little girl, and won’t let anything hurt you.”

Her eyes slowly opened, and she stared up at me. I figured she focused on the ceiling and just stood there. But my mouth fell open in shock when she spoke.

“You’re from the dream?” Hope smiled. “Thank you for helping me.”

I turned around to see if she was talking to her parents, but we were alone.

“You can see me?”

“Of course, silly.”

“And you can hear me?”

Hope pointed at her ears. “I have these, don’t I? Why wouldn’t I be able to hear you?”

A smile spread across my face as I stared down at the little girl. “I have so much to tell you, Hope. We’re going to be the best of friends.”

“Better than Pinky and Perry?” she asked.

“Definitely better than Pinky and Perry.” Probably for the first time in decades, I laughed as an overwhelming sense of joy spread through my body. Finally, I felt like I belonged and had a purpose, for Hope had given me the greatest gift possible . . . her namesake.