The Wounds We Heal

Chapter twenty-six: Broken Memories

Snowflake walked over and giggled seeing Ryder under the blue sheet.

"Oh no! Ryder's a blue ghost!... Hehe, You okay Ryder?" Snowflake said jokingly.

"Oh, I'm ok." The boy replied, as he rose from the floor again.

"Snowflake, Rubble, what was it that you wanted to ask?" He wondered, as Ned wandered away.

"We were wondering if you could help us with our bonding. We're bonding over our fears of ghosts," Snowflake explained.

"What? Then you should have come to me for that! At least Ryder has the perfect costume to help you out," Ned commented.

"Not helping, Ned! Besides, you came out and gave Rubble a ghost hug.. While we were talking!" Snowflake snapped politely.

"Not my fault you didn't come to get advice from the ghost of fun! Boooooooooo!" Ned responded, pretending to be a ghost at the end by waving his forepaws. The pup however wasn't wearing a sheet; just a goofy pup obsessed with ghosts.

"Sure, what exactly do you need help with?" Ryder wondered thoughtfully.

"I'm trying to understand my feelings towards ghosts. Yes, I'm scared of them, but it's mostly because I don't know who or what is under the fabric. Not just bed sheets, but other kinds like blankets, parachutes, tents, curtains, comforters, ect. But the strange part is, I do sometimes enjoy playing 'ghost' under those fabrics! But once I realize I'm stuck under the fabric, and I can't get out, the moment goes from fun to scary and I freak out. Yet at the same time, I'm scared of something I enjoy playing, and getting stuck in sometimes. I don't know how to feel about it," Snowflake explained.

"I think you enjoy being a ghost because you have control over the situation." Ryder began, only pondering her words for a short time before responding. "And when you get caught up in it.. you lose that control.. and you are now in a very vulnerable situation.. Vulnerability can be pretty scary, it's the reason why we feel fear.. being scared of ghosts is just fear of the unknown.. you have a harder time staying calm and confident in yourself when things unseen are hard to see."

"Yes..." Snowflake said, shocked Ryder was able to repeat her dilemma back to her in simple words.

"So, how do I deal with those fears?" Snowflake asked, after regaining her composure.

"Hmm.. well what have you tried?" The boy wondered.

"What do you mean?" Snowflake replied, slightly confused.

"Well, you've tried to deal with it before haven't you?" Ryder reasoned. "What kinds of things did you try? And how well did they work?"

"Well, every time I try dealing with a ghost, I try to talk to them, but get scared and run away. As for getting stuck in the fabric, I try to be careful and playful, but I end up getting stuck. I sometimes try to get unstuck when calm, but when I realize how tangled up I am, I panic!" Snowflake responded, thoughtfully.

"Would you like me to demonstrate?" Snowflake added.

"I think you need to remember that whatever you're playing with is just a material object.. and not a threat.. also you need to remind yourself that you are in a safe place and can think outside of the situation to find a way out all on your own." Ryder said,.. his affirmation being a nod and a smile.

"That doesn't help when I can't see through the material or what's around me," Snowflake commented.

"You don't have to." Ryder said. "All you need to do is remember what you know.. and think about what you can do to free yourself. No panic needed."