Ghosts of Matchmakers Past

When I was a little girl there was a boy who lived across the road. His name was Liam. I first saw him from his window upstairs. I waved, and he waved back, and we ran outside to play together. We were thick as thieves for a little over a year. He was the coolest he never had to ask his parents to go to the park with me or come over for sleepovers. After that year my parents started acting weird. Asking me to talk about Liam to a strange lady in a living room. I didn't think there was anything wrong with him. I mean he was always nice, I shared my toys, and we never fought. Isn't that what best friends do?

My mom started to get frustrated with me more often. What was her problem with him? I was so confused she completely ignored him. I could tell it hurt his feelings, but he told me not to worry about it. One night I heard my mom and dad fighting about me.

The next day we went to visit a nice older lady who smelled like green (I don't know, I was six). She said her name was Marge. She lived in a big house, and she gave me cookies. I liked her much better than the other lady. The lady wanted to know all about Liam. Marge wanted to know what kind of games we played and if I had any other friends who played with us. There wasn't. All the other kids were mean I liked Liam. She asked me if I would like to bring Liam with me next time. Of course, I said yes, Liam would want cookies too.

When I brought Liam the next day they got along great she didn't ignore him like everyone else. We talked and played for a while, and then she sat us down with my parents. I remember she asked if Liam had a secret. He said yes, and then he told me he had died a long time ago. Then Marge gave my parents a bunch of papers with Liam's picture on the front. But it was an "old-fashioned photo' meaning it was black and white. I told everyone that was Liam. After a few tears and a lot of questions, we left Liam said he was going to stay with Marge to go see his parents. I gave him a hug goodbye. That was the last time I saw him but I saw Marge every week since. Since then, I have seen more things other people can't. Like the dead.