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Strawberry Ghost

By MisterAnon
Created: 2021-03-04 21:10:30
Expiry: Never

  1. >Exorcism isn’t the right word for it
  2. >”Boo!”
  3. >That implies some sort of malice to it all
  4. >”Oogaboogabooga!”
  5. >No, what you did was more like the work of a security guard chasing away kids that didn’t know any better
  6. >”Are ya spooked yet?”
  7. >It just so happened that the only place these ponies were trespassing in was the realm of the living
  8. “Sure am, Sheets”
  9. >”Is that what my name is?”
  10. >You cross your arms as you readjust the strap to your satchel and look at the small thing in front of you with a disinterested expression
  11. >Before you stands what looks like the silhouette of a pony wrapped in a white bed sheet outside town square
  12. >Two big blue eyes look out at you from eyeholes in the sheets
  13. “I have no idea. It’s just what I call every ghost that I don’t know the name of”
  14. >”Oh. Do you meet a lot of ghosts?”
  15. “About once a week, but that’s only because I travel around for my work. About two weeks ago I had to deal with three hauntings in Canterlot”
  16. >”Wow, that sounds scary”
  17. >Says the literal dead pony in front of you
  18. >You never hazarded a guess as to how this all worked
  19. >How some ponies went to the afterlife peacefully in their forever naps as they called them and how some would manifest as bedsheet ghosts that just kinda wandered around Equestria
  20. >It was your job to stop them though
  21. >”I’m sorry, I’m pretty new to all of this ghost stuff. So you’re a ghost catcher then?”
  22. “I prefer the term spiritual advisor”
  23. >”Well what do we do now then?”
  24. “Now I’m supposed to chase you away from this world and get you to where you need to be”
  25. >”Where is that supposed to be?”
  26. “The other side”
  27. >”The other side of what? The street?”
  28. “Sure, let’s go with that. Normally what happens is that my clients remember who they used to be and then they’re ready to cross over”
  29. >”I guess it would be nice to remember. I tried finding my house but I don’t remember if I even have a house. Maybe I live in a cardboard box like cute little kittens and puppies. Wait, if I’m your client then does that mean I pay you? I don’t have any bits though. Ghost don’t have bits”
  30. “We’ll talk about repayment later. So any names come to mind to you at all or is Sheets okay?”
  31. >”Hmmm...yeah, I’m drawing a blank. Or should I say blank-et? Hehe”
  32. >sensible chuckle.gif
  33. “Sheets it is then. You can call me Anon. Do you remember anything about yourself before your forever nap? What your cutie mark was? Who your family is?”
  34. ”Nope to all of the above. Maybe you can help me check my cutie mark. It’s kinda hard for me to turn my barrel all the way with this blanket over me
  35. >The pony turns around and the sheet before you lifts up
  36. >You see nothing but air
  37. >Even where the eyes should be, you can see the other side of the sheet instead of pupils
  38. >Once again the sheet lowers and the pony faces you with it’s blue eyes
  39. >”Well?”
  40. “Nothing”
  41. >”Drat. Maybe my special talent is being invisible?”
  42. “Let’s file that theory under ‘good guess’ and move on. Try thinking hard on what you used to be like”
  43. >The pony closes its eyes and you can see the area around its face scrunching you
  44. >After two minutes of intense concentration it shouts out
  45. >”I remember now!”
  46. “What?”
  47. >“That I like strawberry ice cream”
  48. “Good. I can work with that. Let’s get going”
  49. >You turn away from the ghostly pony and start walking side by side with it
  50. >You can hear its invisible hooves trot on the street as the lamps illuminate the two of you going about your night
  51. >”So what are you anyways, mister? You walk on two legs like a diamond dog but you don’t have enough fur for one”
  52. “I’m a human. Not really from around here”
  53. >”Are all humans ghost advisors?”
  54. “Just the ones that can’t find any other job”
  55. >”How long have you been doing this then?”
  56. “Two years now. It all started when Grampa Pumpkin went into his uhhh, bye bye box, and started haunting his old farm”
  57. >”You must be really brave to fight a ghost like that”
  58. “I was only there to try to apply as a farm hand. I was new to town and nobody told me the farm was haunted”
  59. >”I’m surprised that nopony talked to you about it. Since you look…”
  60. >You can hear the ghost stifling some laughter
  61. “...pretty gourd-geous to me! Haha, get it? Pumpkins? Gourds?!”
  62. >”There wasn’t even a proper set up that time”
  63. “I’ll take what I can. Princess Celestia says that you miss every shot that you don’t take. Say, do you think I liked jokes before I took my forever nap?”
  64. >”Looks like you had an affinity for bad jokes, sure”
  65. >Before it can reply, you walk up the short stops of the local ice cream parlor and open the door
  66. >The bell over it rings and you don’t bother leaving it open for your new companion
  67. >Sheets just phases through the door as if it was nothing but air
  68. >The cool air and sweet smells embraces you and you can see the air conditioning is causing Sheet’s covering to sway slightly
  69. >A young mare with a green coat by the cash register looks up from her book and smiles at you
  70. >”Hi Anon, here for a scoop of-“
  71. >Her eyes wander from your frame to your guest and instantly explode in size
  72. >She screams out
  73. >”ARRRGGGHHHHHHH!”
  74. >She falls on her side, knocked out
  75. >Mint Chip, the ice cream mare, always does this when you bring a ghost over
  76. >You’d think she would have gotten used to it by the tenth time
  77. >Sheets walks over by the side of the counter and while you can’t see the invisible limb, you assume it pokes her in the cheek as she snores softly, drool already pooling on the floor
  78. >”Is she going to be okay?”
  79. “We’ll have our answer if another walking bedding department phases through the door. Do you want a cone or a bowl?”
  80. >”Cone please!”
  81. >You walk behind the pastel countertop and take a nearby small cone from a pile
  82. >You don’t know why they stock medium and large size ones since nopony you know can actually finish that much
  83. >After sliding the the display freezer door and rinsing the scoop, you take two large scoops of their creamy Strawberry ice cream and stack them in the cone
  84. >You lower your hard for Sheets to take the cone and it does, the bedsheet lifting up to reveal nothing as the cone floats underneath it and the sheet lowering again
  85. >”Thanks, Anon!”
  86. >You nod at it before grabbing a small cone for yourself and stack two scoops of cookies and cream on it
  87. >As the two of you step over Mint Chip on the way to a booth, you deposit four bits from your satchel next to the cash register to pay for the ice cream, as well as an additional one bit tip for causing her to faint
  88. >You take off your satchel and place it in the seat before taking a seat yourself across from Sheets
  89. >You can hear a tongue licking the frozen treat as you slowly work on your own
  90. >”Yum! Thanks again Anon”
  91. “No problem. Any reason why you remembered strawberry ice cream so well?”
  92. >”Not a clue. You think I used to be an ice cream pony?”
  93. “It’s possible. Maybe you have good memories associated with strawberries in general. One time I had to help out a ghost that liked warm things. He didn’t know it at the time, but we found out he just wanted to snuggle with his safety blanket one last time”
  94. >”So what happened with Grampa Pumpkin anyways?”
  95. >You can hear the cone crunching across from you
  96. “I walked into the field to get to the house when somepony covered by an old embroidered quilt walked up to me and tried to scare me”
  97. >”W-where you scared?”
  98. “You ponies are just too adorable to be scary. Plus I know what it can be like to have no idea where you are”
  99. >”I don’t know about that, Anon, I’m pretty spooky after all”
  100. >Sheets makes its point by standing up and waving its arms around
  101. >”Oooohhhhh”
  102. >You continue to lick your cone nonchalantly
  103. >It giggles as it falls back down on its flank to sit
  104. >”It’s alright Anon, you don’t have to be scared. It’s just me, Sheets!”
  105. “Right.Well I can tell you that I wasn't scared by Grandpa Pumpkin”
  106. “Was he royalty?”
  107. >A dread sense overtakes you
  108. “...no”
  109. >“So he wasn’t a...Pun King?!”
  110. >You smirk
  111. “Oh my gourd, what have I gotten myself into”
  112. >The ghost laughs hard
  113. >So hard that it collapses on the floor and you can see the sheets rolling around
  114. >”Haha, a-atleast, haha! At least we have pumpkin to talk about!”
  115. >This time you chuckle
  116. >Not because it was particularly funny but because Sheets joy proves to be infectious
  117. >You rummage through your bag and pull out a Polaroid camera that’s loaded with film
  118. >You stand up and kneel next to the pony as it starts to stand up, wobbling as it tries to regain its composure
  119. >It sees the camera and already knows what to do
  120. >It gets behind you and uses its invisible hooves to lift up itself so it’s head is right next to your own head as it rests it on your shoulder
  121. >The camera flashes and our pops the quick developed photo
  122. >You take the photo and examine it
  123. >In it, you’re smiling gently as the blanket covered pony looks into the camera with you
  124. >You assume it’s probably smiling as well judging from the eyes
  125. >”Can I see it?”
  126. >You show it the photo
  127. >Sheets jumps back
  128. >”Eeekkk! A ghost! Oh wait, that’s me”
  129. >You hear a groan, not a ghostly groan, coming from the cash register
  130. >Mint Chip slowly rises up tired and spots you
  131. >”Oah, that was a nice nap. Oh hey Anon, what are you doing he-”
  132. >Once again she spots Sheets
  133. >Once again she lets out a piercing scream
  134. >Once again she faints where she was earlier
  135. “We should get going”
  136.  
  137. >After grabbing two more cones for the road, Sheets and you are walking alongside the road
  138. >It’s past closing time for most shops and at this point the village is practically empty
  139. >Good, you don’t need more panicked ponies on your hands
  140. >”So what’s it like?”
  141. “What do you mean?”
  142. >”You said that when I remember who I am, I’ll be ready to go to the other side. What’s the other side like?”
  143. “I don’t know”
  144. >”Then why are you sending ponies there? What if it’s a scary place where there aren’t any night lights in the bedrooms?”
  145. “I don’t think it is. Everyone here is pretty happy. I don’t think whoever made this world would make the next world any worse than this”
  146. >”I never really thought about what happens after I take my forever nap. Well, I guess I’d get really bored just laying down in a bye bye box for a really long time”
  147. “I’ve heard a lot of different ponies tell me different ideas about what happens, you wouldn’t get bored if any of them are true”
  148. >”Really? Like what?”
  149. “Princess Celestia says that you go up in the sky even if you don’t have wings and get to meet Faust. Princess Luna told me that maybe it’ll be like being in a dream where you can imagine anything you want and it’ll appear right before you. Another pony I know that works in bakery said that you’ll go to a forest where the lakes are filled with chocolate syrup, the trees are made out of lollipops, and the mountains are covered in ice cream snow”
  150. >You both turn a corner into the outskirts of the village
  151. >”I hope that last one is right”
  152. “Let me guess, the ice cream mountains?”
  153. >”No, well that’s a nice bonus of course, but I like likes. or is it the sand at the lakes?”
  154. “There’s a gryphon I met that told me that you’ll watch a movie”
  155. >”What kind of movie is it? I hope it’s a super cool adventure one! Maybe one with Daring Doo doing flips and kicks or maybe it’ll be a movie about the Huntsmare!”
  156. “It’s whatever genre you lived your life as. The movie is all about you and what you did before your forever nap”
  157. >”Borrinnggg. I already went through it before, why would I want to see it again?”
  158. “Because this time you’re not seeing it through your eyes, but through everyone elses that was around you”
  159. >”Oh. Well I guess that would be different”
  160. “You’ll see how you affected everyone around you and how they affected you. All the smiles, frowns, and everything in between”
  161. >”What happens when the movie is over?”
  162. “He told me that you’ll decide what happens next. You can decide either to reward yourself or put yourself in time out”
  163. >”Would you watch my movie with me?”
  164. “If there is a movie, I can’t watch it with you. You watch it yourself so that there’s nobody to lie or pretend to”
  165. >”Pfft, watching movies alone is no fun either. If I go to the skies at least I can do loopty loops”
  166. >To illustrate its point the ghost leaps in the air and flies briefly before a silhouette of wings appear under the bedsheets to allow it to do its own aerial trick
  167. >Sheets, clearly dizzy lands next to you again and sways gently as it tries to get its bearings
  168. >”Whoa, I didn’t know I could do that!”
  169. “Looks like you used to be a pegasus”
  170. >”I didn’t realize that. I really had to...wing that trick, Anon!”
  171. “A pegasus that likes bad puns”
  172. >The ghostly pegasus continues to laugh to itself as the two of you cross a bridge
  173. >”So where are you from?”
  174. “Ponyville”
  175. >”Never heard of it. Are there a lot of humans in Ponyville?”
  176. “Just one”
  177. >”Is it like you?”
  178. “Yeah. You could say that we’re exactly the same”
  179. >”Oh okay, I was wondering if that human had wings or a horn”
  180. “Here’s the plot twist, Sheets, I am the human”
  181. >”Whoa, I didn’t see that coming! So that means you’re the only human here?”
  182. “As it would seem”
  183. >”Does it...get lonely?”
  184. “Is it lonely to be a ghost?”
  185. >”I guess so? It was fun going around scaring other ponies though”
  186. “And why did you do that?”
  187. >”Because that’s what ghosts are supposed to do, silly filly!”
  188. “Right. Well I’m not lonely. Not anymore anyways”
  189. >”Now that I think about it I’m not lonely anymore either, I have you!”
  190. “Glad to hear it”
  191. >Eventually the two of you reach your destination
  192. >A public playground illuminated by bright streetlights
  193. >The swings rock gently as the winds blow on them and the bright colors of the jungle gym and slides are still visible under the constellation of stars above you
  194. >Sheets starts to flap its wings as it starts to hover at your height
  195. >The covering opens up briefly and you can feel a gentle force push your noise
  196. >”Boop, you’re it!”
  197. >It then zooms away into the playground
  198. >You chuckleas you take your satchel off and gently toss it to the ground as you run after your little apparition
  199. >Laughter fills the air from both you and it
  200.  
  201. >After exhaustive hours of tag, catch, hide and seek in which you had to chastate it for cheating by taking off its cloak, and hopscotch the two of you are now going down slides
  202. >The good slides too, not the kind that has too much friction so you stop midway down and have to basically scoot the rest of the way
  203. >Sheets gets to the top of one slide and turns to you
  204. >So, I’m not complaining or anything Anon-”
  205. >It then goes down it as it’s front hooves are raised in the ai
  206. >”Wheeeee!”
  207. >The body then stops at the base
  208. >”-but did we go to the playground just to have fun?”
  209. “It’s all part of remembering what you were like. Did it jog anything?”
  210. >”Well I was jogging my legs”
  211. “I walked right into that one, or rather jogged into it”
  212. >”You make it too easy, Anon. But I do remember something”
  213. “And that is?”
  214. >”That it’s great to have friends again! It feels good to have somepony to laugh and play with again”
  215. “Do you remember any of your old friends?”
  216. >”I...I’m starting to see a kinda weird shape in my head. Like when you put food coloring into water and it looks like a water balloon that just popped”
  217. >The blue eyes of the pony expand in shock but it is silent
  218. “Sheets?”
  219. >”Anon! Do we have any water?!”
  220. >She yells out in an urgent tone
  221. >You only quirk an eyebrow as you pull out a water bottle from the various items in your satchel
  222. >”Quick, pour it over me!”
  223. “You sure? I don’t know if it’s possible to wash ghostly bedsheets”
  224. >Sheets rapidly nods
  225. >You unscrew the bottle and start pouring it over
  226. >The white bedsheet gets wet as it starts to cling onto an invisible form
  227. >Finally all 16.9oz of fluid is emptied out and you see Sheets still standing with its eyes closed in thought
  228. >Soon though it’s eyes open and they stare deeply into your own
  229. >“I...I…”
  230. ”Yeah?”
  231. >It’s eyes shift momentarily away from you before refocusing
  232. >“I...I’m cold now”
  233. >A sigh escapes your lips
  234. >”Ah, don’t be like that. No need for the cold shoulder, Anon. Hehe”
  235. “So what was all of that about?”
  236. >”I thought that my memory came back but I guess was wrong. Oh well”
  237. >The blanket that was soaking wet a moment ago supernaturally turns dry again as wind sweeps it a tiny amount
  238. >Suddenly a small bit of hoof is visible momentarily at the bottom of your eye
  239. >Hmmm
  240. >You shrug your shoulders theatrically
  241. “Guess we’ll have to visit another spot then”
  242. >”Yay!”
  243. >It’s a short walk back to the bridge near the playground as the two of you chat once again
  244. >At about midway through the crossing you take your satchel off and bend down to tie your shoes
  245. >You lean on the short railing to balance yourself
  246. >But the railing is just too short
  247. >You fall over and land right in the river
  248. >Your arms flail as you call for help
  249. >To Sheets you’re in a struggle for your life as the threat of drowning increases
  250. >To you, you are perfectly safe
  251. >The River is slow and it barely even reaches above your knee if you were standing
  252. >You have to sit down and splash the water all around you constantly to make the situation seem more perilous than it really is
  253. >You’re an awful actor
  254. >”Anon! I’ll save you!”
  255. >But it’s good enough
  256. >Even with your eye lids squinting to prevent water from reaching inside, you can make out the wings of Sheets unfurling as it makes a great jump towards you
  257. >A clothed mouth bites around your collar and she pulls with everything she has
  258. >Of course you’re a bit too big for her to move
  259. >So you complete the illusion of its rescue by scooting on your but closer and closer to the street
  260. >All seems to be going well until it does a pull strong enough to make its teeth slip from your shirt and tumble into the water next to you
  261. >”No!”
  262. “Sheets”
  263. >”I don’t want to take a second forever nap!”
  264. “Sheets!”
  265. >”Can a ghost even drown?! Blurb blurb blurb blurb”
  266. >She just audibly said blurb
  267. >This is enough
  268. >You stand up and cross your arms once again
  269. “SHEETS!”
  270. >Your client freezes and looks at you before realizing that she’s standing perfectly safe above the water
  271. >She gives you a nervous smile
  272. >Yep, you can see her face now
  273. >You can see all of her perfectly visible form now, the blanket having been swept away when she landed in the water
  274. >She has burgundy fur with a yellow Mane, and a cutie mark of what looks to be an orange starfish surrounded by shells
  275. >You tap a finger silently
  276. >She still smiles nervously before finally speaking up
  277. >“Looks like it ended well, Anon. I got us COVERed! Ha!”
  278. “That joke doesn’t work anymore”
  279. >Her confusion is obvious as she tries to see what you mean
  280. >She lifts up a hoof and finally notices that her sheet is gone
  281. >“...oh. Guess I’ll have to make other puns now”
  282. “How long did you know?”
  283. >She avoids eye contact
  284. >”When you poured the water over me. It reminded me that I was a lifeguard and everything else kinda just came flooding back in”
  285. >Her face contorts into guilt for keeping it a secret
  286. >You sigh
  287. >And reach a hand out suddenly over her
  288. >She flinches, expecting some sort of punishment
  289. >But her fears prove to be unfounded when you gently lay your hand over her mane and comb through it with your fingers
  290. “I’m happy to hear you got back your memories. You should never forget who you are”
  291. >She enjoys the attention but is still hesitant to get fully into it
  292. >”I’m sorry that I tricked you, Anon. I just didn’t want it t end”
  293. “Having too much fun being a ghost?”
  294. >”No, it’s because I was having a lot of fun with you”
  295. >You raise a brow
  296. >Her voice starts to crack as her heart fills her throat
  297. >”You said that when I would remember who I was then it’d be time for me to go. But I don’t want to go. You’re my friend now. It’s not fair that we only got to play for one night”
  298. “I said you’d cross over only when you were ready. Becoming visible is just because you remembered your identity. We’ll still have plenty of fun, Sheets”
  299. >Her big blue eyes look at you again and there’s hope in them
  300. “Or do you want another name? I could keep calling you Sheets for old time’s sake. Paprika? Daisy? Mare to whom makes bad jokes the Third?”
  301. >She punches your elbow as she floats up, the impact feeling like a hit from a teddy bear
  302. >Her grin is wide
  303. >”Seasaw is good. In fact it’s more than good, it’s…”
  304. “Swell?”
  305. >She doubles over from laughing and wipes a tear from her eye
  306. “Looks like we’re trading bedsheet puns for ocean puns. Celestia have mercy on me”
  307. >”Don’t worry Anon, it’s NAUTical problem at all”
  308. >You shake your head as you walk over to your satchel and put it by your side once again
  309. >You lifts up the soft pony in your arms easily walk back to the playground
  310. >After placing her in the seat of one of the swings, the two of you are enjoying time together as you push her higher and higher, her cheering on every time she’s lifted up
  311. “So what was the deal with the ice cream?”
  312. >”Everytime my shift was over at the beach I’d buy a strawberry ice cream cone to cool off. Me and my friends would just sit on the beach and lick up ice cream as the sunset”
  313. “That sounds nice”
  314. >The squeak of the chains on the swing punctuate both your sentences
  315. >”How about you Anon? What did you and your human friends do before you got here?”
  316. “I don’t know”
  317. >”You don’t have to be embarrassed, we’re friends now! Maybe we can do the same things you and your buddies did together!”
  318. “I don’t know what we did. I don’t know if I even had friends”
  319. >Now it’s her turn to show her obliviousness
  320. >”...what?”
  321. >Your neutral tone doesn’t change as you continue to push her swing
  322. “When I came here I was wrapped up in a bedsheet too. I still don’t know who I was or what my name is”
  323. >”But your name is Anon!”
  324. “That was the name ponies gave me. It’s fitting, I guess. It took weeks for them to be brave enough to try and talk to me. I remember trying to ask where I was but ponies like Mint Chip kept fainting”
  325. >“How can I see you then?”
  326. “Eventually Celestia met me and treated me nice, trying to help me find out what happened and where I came from. I just wanted to repay her and tried to be nice also. Eventually I got used to the name Anonymous and then I just came to look like this. We’re not sure if I really am human, I just looked like a picture from a book about myths”
  327. >”So...you don’t really remember your old life?”
  328. “Not a thing. Not even what I used to be like”
  329. >”Well I like you the way you are right now”
  330. “That’s good to hear”
  331. >The moon hangs low in the sky and you can see that the horizon is starting to turn a shade of violet
  332. >”I’m kinda scared”
  333. “Scared of what?”
  334. “This other side sounds a lot more different than going to the other side of the street. What if there’s nopony else in the candy forest to play with? Or if Faust has mean words to say to me, or what if I don’t like watching my movie?”
  335. ”Just think about your happy memories. You can think of me too if that helps”
  336. >“But you won’t be there when I go away”
  337. “But we’ll still be friends. And one day we can play together again if you want “
  338. >”I want to!”
  339. “There we go then. Something for both of us to look forward to”
  340. >”Yay! Since you’re my spiritual advisor do I pay you money on this side or the other side. I could maybe find some buried treasure in the sea”
  341. >Your hand connects to her soft fur right before you push her higher in the swing
  342. “You don’t have to pay me money at all, Seasaw. I just want a favor”
  343. >”What is it? I can do a lot of things! Like swim, do loopy de loops, eat three cookies at once, and swim!”
  344. “Will you remember who I am, Seasaw?”
  345. >”Sure! There’s no way I’m going to forget you, Anon! But what else do you want?”
  346. “That’s it”
  347. >”That’s it? You don’t want anything else?”
  348. “I’m kinda scared of the other side too. If there is a movie, I don’t know what the movie will be like since I don't know what I was like. Was there something I had to leave behind? Do I deserve all of this? Will I be angry at the person I used to be?”
  349. >Seasaw is quiet as she goes up and down, listening to your words
  350. “But what I’m most afraid of is that I’ll forget everything again. It happened once already. It might happen again. It just doesn’t feel right not knowing who I am”
  351. >“It’s going to be okay, Silly Filly. I’ll remember who you are and I’ll remind you when we meet again. You’re Anon and you like cookies and cream ice cream and you're a human. We’ll remind each other who we are if we both forget again! I’ll even talk to Faust about you”
  352. “I’d like that, a lot. Thanks, Seasaw, it’s nice knowing there’s ponies waiting for me on the other side ”
  353. >”And it’s really super duper good knowing there’s going to be another friend that’s going to be there with me”
  354. >She turns to you, mouth open in the widest smile you’ve seen so far as the first rays of dawn streak through her mane as she sits in the swing going up and down, her hooves grasping the chains
  355. >You can sense it
  356. >A burden taken off, fear of the unknown gone and in its place the warm promise of companionship and purpose for what is to come
  357. >It’s never easy though
  358. >Never easy to say goodbye to a friend
  359. >”I can’t wait Anon”
  360. >She turns away and faces the rising sun, joy in her voice as you push her nearly to the highest point of the swing
  361. >“We’ll run and play everyday and take naps under the shade”
  362. >The chirps of birds start to sound as they greet the morning
  363. >”And we can go to the beach and swim for as long as we want”
  364. “Don’t forget the strawberry ice cream”
  365. >”Of course! We’ll get some ice cream and watch the sunsets together”
  366. “So what you’re saying is…”
  367. >Seasaw knows what’s to come and is already stifling giggles again
  368. “...we’ll chill together”
  369. >You both laugh together the way only two friends do when a joke isn’t very funny, but laugh regardless because one tried to make the other happier
  370. >She looks at you one more time, her blue eyes glistening and hopeful
  371. >The sun has now risen over the horizon and with your final push, the swing goes up and crosses the beam of the sun, blinding you from following it with your eyes
  372. >The swing comes back down
  373. >It is empty
  374. >It’s never easy
  375. >”...goodbye, Seasaw. Until we meet again”
  376. >You sit down on the swing that was next to Seasaw’s
  377. >From your satchel you take out a large well worn book and open it up to a blank page
  378. >You also take out the photo from earlier, the one taken in the ice cream shop
  379. >But it has changed
  380. >From where there used to be a bedsheet ghost, now there was a cute little burgundy pony hunched over your shoulder, smiling with ice cream stains on her mouth that’s shaped in a smile
  381. >It used to be a photograph of a worker and his client
  382. >But now it’s two friends enjoying a moment together
  383. >With some tape you secure the photo to the center of the page
  384. >You dig out out a pen and start to write down information
  385. ‘Seasaw’
  386. ‘Lifeguard’
  387. ‘Likes Strawberry Ice Cream
  388. ‘Enjoys bad puns’
  389. >You think on your words momentarily before erasing the last part and filling in something new
  390. ‘Pretty Punny’
  391. >You close the book and run your fingers over the cover
  392. >Over it are handwritten words
  393. >Memento Mori
  394. >You’re not sure where you came upon that phrase
  395. >Did a pony mention it to you one day?
  396. >Was it something from your old life?
  397. >Regardless, you thought it appropriate to put it on this volume
  398. >Seasaw was the 112th soul that you helped cross over
  399. >The other 111 were also in the book in your lap, each one having their own photographs, names, and other bits of information you learned about them
  400. ‘Jetlag’
  401. ‘Broomhilda’
  402. ‘Merry Weather’
  403. Sourdough’
  404. ‘Musician’
  405. ‘Janitor’
  406. ‘Engineer’
  407. ‘Homeless’
  408. ‘Hates cold bread’
  409. ‘Married for sixty years’
  410. ‘Enjoys waltzing’
  411. ‘Likes piggyback rides’
  412. >You memorizes every single name and fact of every single being in your book
  413. >Afterall, you promised each one that you would remember them
  414. >And in turn they would remember you
  415. >You stow away your book once again and look over at the empty swing formerly occupied by Seasaw
  416. >...
  417. >...
  418. >...
  419. >You get up again and start to walk back home
  420. >You resolve to stop by the ice cream parlor on the way and grab a scoop of strawberry on the way though
  421. >Yeah
  422. >That sounded cool
  423.  
  424. The End

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