Heart To Heart with Ghosts (Solo)

Sometimes at night, Lydia would dream. Sometimes they were good dreams, great dreams containing the things that made her happy, dreams she would love to reenact in reality. Sometimes they were bad dreams, nightmares as many liked to call them, and she’d wake up shivering and crying. Sometimes she would dream she was tripping, and wake herself with a foot twitch.

Sometimes she had dreams that weren’t really dreams, but really reruns of memories. She had such a dream one summer night, as she explained.

"I wish I didn’t have these sorts of dreams, because when I wake up they feel more like nightmares. I don’t understand why my mind would do this to me, why it would dig up things that hurt,” Lydia relayed quietly.

She rubbed her temple, glancing at the worn photo in her hands. What the hell was she doing? “Huh. I’m talking to a freaking picture. I must really be stir-crazy.” It was funny; she thought she’d have loads of friends and be perfectly busy after so much time in New York.

Nine months, and she was having a heart-to-heart with ghosts in the loneliness of her room.

“So last night I had a dream about that one day in fourth grade. The day you let me skip school. You said it was such a nice day outside, that is was our first taste of real summer, that staying indoors would just be a waste. You took me to the beach.”

Lydia crinkled her nose and laughed. “The water was so cold! Even though it was warm Southern California, the water was still a little chilly from the winter. But you got me mint chocolate chip ice cream and we played games in the sand and talked about everything. Even the stupid little things like which Bratz doll was my favorite.” She buried her face in her pillow, and let it stifle a strange strangled noise. “When we got home, Daddy was so mad. He didn’t want me missing school for some dumb day at the beach. But then you used your magic words, that tone you knew would melt his heart, and pretty soon we were all laughing about it. And that's where my dream ended.”

“It was an amazing day,” she whispered, staring at the photograph, at the smiling faces looking up at her.

It was.

“I miss you guys so much, you know that?”

We know, baby.

“I’m scared I’m going to forget these memories, even if they hurt me.”

We’re always here for you.