The Girl and the Ghost

Something spooky is going on. I hear scary whooshing sounds. My mom says the sounds are from something called a vacuum cleaner.

“What’s a vacuum cleaner?” I ask, bewildered.

“It’s something humans use to clean,” she says.

I gasp. Humans? Cleaning? I can’t decide which is more terrifying!

Our haunted house used to be perfect. It was delightfully dusty. There were cobwebs everywhere. And sweet spiders were creeping all over the place.

You see, my mom and I are ghosts. Every year, we host a Halloween party for the ghosts in our neigh-boo-rhood. We cast spells on the house to make it glow with purple light. I turn the floors into trampolines. My mom makes apple cider come out of the faucets.

Now that the humans have moved in, everything is different. They used their spooky vacuum cleaner to get rid of the dust and cobwebs. The spiders are living outside. And my mom says I can’t cast spells on the house anymore.

“Bella, we can’t risk the humans seeing us,” my mom explains.

I picture a human sucking me up in that big vacuum and shudder. But the worst news is still coming.

“This means we can’t have our Halloween party this year,” she says.

My mom tries to put on a brave face, but I can tell she’s just as devastated as I am.

One day, when my mom is out at the boo-kstore, I decide to sneak down to the kitchen. Time for some boo-berry pancakes! As I enter the kitchen . . .

Crash! I swoosh behind the fridge. Then I peek out. Standing in the kitchen is my worst nightmare. My biggest fear. A human!

The girl looks to be about my age. She has glasses, just like me. She seems to be trying to cook something, but it’s not going well. There’s a broken egg on the floor and flour all over the counter.

The girl climbs onto the kitchen counter. I think she’s trying to reach the sugar on the top shelf. It must be tough, not being able to fly.

Suddenly, she slips! She tumbles off the counter. Without thinking, I fly toward her and catch her. Then I set her on the floor. The girl looks up at me.

“Aaah!”

“Don’t be scared!” I say quickly. “I’m just a ghost.”

“Ghosts are super scary!” she yells.

“No we’re not!” I say. “Humans are way scarier. You’ve been clearing out all the pretty cobwebs and sweet spiders. And you were trying to suck us up into a scary vacuum!”

“We just took the spiders outside,” the girl explains. “And the vacuum cleaner is to get rid of the dust. It makes my mom sneeze.”

“Oh,” I say. “I guess you aren’t scary.”

“What about you?” she says suspiciously. “The ghosts I’ve read about and seen in movies usually try to scare people.”

“But not in a mean way,” I say sincerely. “It’s fun to surprise people!”

“I guess neither one of us is scary,” she says, smiling. “My name is Hazel.”

“I’m Bella,” I say, smiling back.

“Thanks for saving me when I fell,” Hazel says. “I’m trying to make Halloween cookies for my mom. She’s been pretty sad.”

“Why?” I ask.

“She’s been stressed out with our big move,” Hazel explains. “And we haven’t made any friends since we got here.”

“My mom’s been sad too,” I say, nodding. “We’ve been hiding in the attic since you arrived.”

Suddenly, Hazel’s face lights up.

“I have an idea!” she says.

“Let’s have a Halloween party for us and our moms tonight!” Hazel exclaims.

“I wish,” I say sadly. “My mom doesn’t want me to be friends with a human. She’s scared of humans.”

“Yeah, my mom is scared of ghosts. But she doesn’t even know any ghosts!” Hazel says. “Maybe if they get to know each other, they won’t be so scared.”

I grin. “My mom won’t be home from the boo-kstore until five.”

“My mom usually gardens outside until then too.”

“Let’s do it!” I say.

We work together all afternoon. I swoosh up to reach the ingredients on the high shelves and cast spells to help clean up the mess. Hazel shares her mom’s favorite recipe. When the cookies come out of the oven, Hazel smooths green frosting over them and I cast a spell to make them glittery.

Then we decorate the house for the party. Hazel hangs up shimmering lights and streamers. They shine and sparkle. I cast a spell to make glow-in-the-dark cobwebs. Finally, we put the Halloween cookies on an orange plate.

Then we wait for our moms to arrive.

At 5 o’clock, Hazel’s mom comes inside with flowers from her garden. At the same time, my mom gets back from the boo-kstore.

“Surprise!” we say.

“Aaah! Ghosts!” yells Hazel’s mom, dropping her flowers.

“Aaah! Humans!” yells my mom. She swooshes in front of me and spreads her arms out, looking petrified.

“Don’t worry,” I say quickly. “Hazel is my new friend.”

“There’s nothing to be scared of,” Hazel agrees, turning to her mom. “Bella and her mom live in our house too. They’re really nice!”

We explain how we became friends. Then we give them our cookies. The moms are still nervous, but they start to talk. Then my mom notices all of Hazel’s mom’s fresh flowers on the floor.

“These are boo-tiful!” she exclaims.

Hazel’s mom blushes. “Oh, thank you. I got them from the garden outside.”

My mom smiles. “I never know what to do with flowers when they’re alive, but I love arranging the dead ones.”

Hazel’s mom nods enthusiastically. “Oh, dead flowers can be beautiful too!”

It turns out they like a lot of the same things. Hazel’s mom likes to tell ghost stories. My mom likes to tell human stories. Pretty soon, they are becoming friends—just like me and Hazel.

By the end of the afternoon, my mom says we don’t have to hide in the attic anymore. And we can have our Halloween party again! My mom even invites Hazel and her mom to stop by.

“Won’t the other ghosts be scared seeing humans?” Hazel’s mom asks.

“Not when they see the un-boo-lievable ghost costumes we’ll magically make for you,” my mom replies.

“Plus, once the ghosts get to know you, they’ll love you,” I say.

“Just like us,” my mom adds warmly.

Hazel grins. “This is going to be the most fa-boo-lous Halloween ever!”