The Ghost and the Pumpkin

Getting a friend

In order to go to the afterlife, a ghost must either: 

1. avenge their death

2. forgive who killed them

3. solve their  death

Or 4. just fix their unresolved business.

Sounds easy enough, and I probably could have gone to the afterlife a long time ago, but...

The afterlife sounds so-

Lonely. 

So I have decided to get a friend! 

Just one, I am not too ambitious. Plus I never had any friends when I was alive anyway. It would be sad to leave the world entirely without ever having ONE friend. And family does not count, that would be cheating.

But as a ghost, it is difficult to find a friend.

The living ones run away the minutes they sense you are there, and it gets even worse when they see you. They just keep on screaming and screaming and screaming. I mean, it is not that much different than seeing us in the books (except for the fact we will really be there and can throw your stuff and we look also quite scary), but otherwise not. 

I have also tried becoming friends with other ghosts, but they are all so depressing. I mean the only thing they think about, talk about, dream about, and look for is the stupid afterlife or how they died. 

I don't wanna talk or think about how I died! It was super sad and depressing and hurt like hell. 

So I turned to animals. Some cats are nice. They sense me. But they are quite moody and always want just pets, food, pets, food, and more food. Dogs are better, but still not good. They like company, but they love their humans so much they rarely leave them. 

I feel like it shouldn't be so difficult, but it is. For the last couple of years I have just been wandering here and there, trying to find anyone to talk to and who wants to play with me and be my friend. 

But no one wants to.

So that is why I decided. You can be my friend Mr. Pumpkin.

12-year-old ghost Luna draws a smile and two eyes, with some dirt on a lone pumpkin in a deserted place. She wears a worn-out dress with long sleeves and a little hairpin that looks like a sunflower. 

"You look like you are also all alone out here, and could use a friend." Luna looks around the place. A few other plants are there, but there is not much else other than rocks. 

"And you don't even have a good view here. " Luna jumps up joyfully. 

"Why don't I start by decorating your place a bit?! And after that, we can play rock, paper, scissors? I'm really bad at the game, but I guess you never have played it, so it doesn't matter if I'm good or bad. " 

Luna flies around and with some difficulty moves some rocks around. "Phew, it is much harder than I thought. Maybe this is enough for now. " Luna flies back to Mr. Pumpkin.

"So should we play? "

She stares patiently at Mr. Pumpkin. 

A bit of air goes over the place and moves a few of Mr. Pumpkin's leaves. 

"UH, that must mean YES! Okay, so the rule is you can choose either rock-"

She shows with her hands how it looks.

"- paper-"

She shows again.

"-or scissors"

And with her hands, she shows scissors.