----

The closet is scary. I don't know if the older boy wanted to hurt me. I really don't want to go into closet but Joe might be in there. He has to be. I was scared when I was all alone in the closet. I don't want Joe to be scared and alone too. The older boy didn't look scared but he did look sad.

I don't think Daddy or Mommy saw him.

----

With every step a sense of dread starts to fill a small heart. The old steps creek and croak with the small feet that pitter patter on their worn wood surface. The little boy anxiously tugs at the ends of his sweater. Once he reaches the second floor he journeys down the hall and stops at the closet door.

Ashton takes the biggest breath he can before placing a hand on the door and pushing it away from the broken frame. Specks of dust still float in the stale air of the room. The sliver of light that illuminates the room is resting on Joe. He sits in front of the window seemingly unharmed. Although he just wants to rush in there and grab Joe, he remembers what happened when the door was closed.

He sees a stray box with books in them and grabs the heaviest ones he can to use as a door stop.

With the door open to the hall Ashton steps one foot in...then the other before running and reaching for his plush toy. Nimble fingers pluck Joe from the floor and hold him high above. Locks of fringe cover the older boy's eyes and his thin lips are pursed. Ashton starts to shake and step back. He doesn't want to get hurt again. But he can't leave his friend Joe.

The little boy glares and jumps up to try and reach his friend.

"Did you find Joe, Ash?"

Joe has flopped to the floor and Ashton looks back at his father,"Huh?"

"You find him?" James peeks his head into the room.

Aston looks at his father and back at he boy before slowly bending down and grabing the toy and holding it to his chest. He turns back to his father.

"You did find him. That's great, bud. Do you wanna have snacks with Joe?"

The boy looks back but only sees the window that's slightly open and tries to find the older boy's reflection in the dirt crusted glass. He doesn't. With a soft sigh he turns back to his father to answer,"....Okay." with a nod and walks out of the room.

~~~

The moon and stars are the only things hanging in the night sky. The youngest member of the family lies awake is his bed. The moon leads him out of his room and into the hall. He stands in front of the still open closet and stares into the dark nothingness that starts at the frame of the room. Ashton saw the older boy the first time he came into the closet but hasn't since. The older boy will do things and Ashton won't see him.

With hesitance he calls out into the seemingly empty room,"Are you hurt?....Why do you stay in the closet?..." the boy thinks back to when the older boy had taken Joe,"I don't think he has anything to play with, Joe." He looks down at the bear with a frown. Ashton trodds back to his room and picks up his new toy car. He goes to the closet and wheels it into the black room,"You can play with that one." The little boy yawns and rubs his eyes,"Let's go back to bed, Joe."

----

It seems like all this unpacking will never end. With the scare we had with Ashton I don't feel comfortable taking all my time unpacking and just letting him roam around the house. But I also don't want to force him to sit in a corner with a book just so I can watch him. Once I'm all done unpacking I'll look through every room for a broken floorboard, rusty screws, mold, anything to make sure nothing else can be potentially harmful.

Ashton was able to find Joe in that closet. He must have had Joe with him but forgot he did when he got scared and hurt. We probably didn't see the bear either since we too busy trying to get Ashton calm and out of the floor.

Now, where did the movers put my posters?

----

A lovely wife kisses her groggy husband,"Goodmorning."

James burrows under his pillow and utters a groan that sounds like a half-hearted,"Go away."

NIcolette chuckles and goes to the bathroom to get ready.

A few minutes later the man finally pushes the pillow away and gets up to start the day. He rubs the crust from his eyes as he pads out the room and down the hall. Descending the stairs with no grace he goes to the kitchen and turns the coffee maker on before making some eggs and bacon. Since their new home is farther out of town Nicolette has to get up for work earlier and so does James. Nicolette has always been an early riser and James...Well he's James.

As James sets the plate and mug of coffee down he hears the familiar clicking of heels against glossy wooden steps. Nicolette is typing away at her phone as she steps into the kitchen. James unceremoniously pulls the chair back with a screech and offers a,"My lady." with a sloppy bow.

"Why thankyou, kind sir." she looks down at the plate with a humored huff,"You even arranged them in a smile. How cute." she smiles back at it before stabbing one of the sunny-side eggs with her fork.

Once she finishes her meal she is sent off to work with a still tired wave and farewell from her husband.

James cleans up in the kitchen, and by cleaning up that means shoving all the dishes in the sink and making a mental note to get back to them later in the day. He goes back up the stairs and to his bedroom. After taking a shower and brushing his teeth James is fully awake and hungry. He leaves his room and goes down the hall to Ashton's room.

The man slowly turns the doorknob and opens the door a fourth of the way to peek inside. Ashton is still asleep, Joe's fuzzy bear arm clutched in one hand, a foot handing off the bed, and the blanket tangled like a vine on one leg.

James smiles and closes the door before putting his hands on his hips and giving the rooms, filled with trash and now useless packing supplies, a determined look. He starts with picking up trash and moving boxes.

A busy father walks down the hall with a box full of packing peanuts,"I think Nicolette said that the trash would be picked up on-AH!" With a startled shout he stumbles over something on the floor. He looks down and sees his son's new toy car. With an exasperated huff, James toes the toy towards the wall to prevent another accident before continuing on.

Once the single witness is gone the car quietly squeeks forward and back, forward and back, before rolling to a stop in front of the open closet door.

~~~

A naive set of amber eyes open and squint at the sudden light. Little limbs stretch across the sheets as the young boy lets out a squeaky yawn. Ashton pats his hand on the side of his bed until he finds his bear and brings it to his chest,"Good morning, Joe. Let's go find Daddy. Maybe he made food." The boy hops down from his bed and trods sleepily out of his room and down the hall,"DADDY!? Did you make food!?" As he rubs his eyes with a sleeve he feels his toe bump into something in his way,"Huh?" Ashton looks down and sees,"My car." he picks it up and looks to the right. Straight into the bister eyes of another.

He lets out a startled squeak. Dropping the car and holding Joe closer to him. Then he realizes who it is,"Oh...Hi."

The boy doesn't move and just continues to stare down at the smaller boy.

"Um, did you like the car?" he asks as he picks it up,"You can still play with it if you want."

The boy takes the red car from Ashton's hands, that are still round with baby fat, with his own that are long and slender, lanky with adolescence.

Ashton notes to himself that in the light of the hall the boys lips spotted with blood and hair crusted with it don't look so scary. It just looks like it hurts,"Did you get hurt?" The innocent question slips out unfiltered by the boy's innocence, ignorant through youth as to his current situation. It has crossed his mind that this older boy can and has hurt him but...

"Why are you here?"

The voice is whispy like a thin breath. It feels like if you don't pay attention his words will float away and never reach you.

"What do you mean?"

His eyes drift to the bandages wrapped around a pale leg,"You have that now..." his eyes then drift up to Joe,"I took him from you..." their eyes meet,"I've tried to hurt you. Why are you nice to me?" he growls and his brows furrow in frustration.

"Well." Ashton struggles to find the right words,"It's scary being alone and hurt. When I fell in the floor it felt like that. You're hurt and you were alone in here. I thought maybe I can help."

The ghost is astonished that the little boy could tell it was lonely in there when none of the previous residence, nor mediums they brought, could. Even when he had hurt the boy, on accident because no one else could ever see him. When Ashton had screamed at the sight of him he couldn't believe he was being seen. He also took his bear because he wanted to test him seeing me again. He didn't care if he was hurting or scaring him at the time, he just wanted to be seen.

Instead of sharing his strong emotions he keeps them bottled up and instead scoffs at the boy,"There isn't much left to help."

"But you're bleeding."

The ghost takes a moment to process what the boy is saying. His eyes widen in realization,"You don't understand what I am, do you?"

Ashton's button nose scrunches up,"It that a retoehickle question."

"It's rhetorical but no."

"Oh." Ashton looks down at Joe and fiddles with the green bow tied on his neck,"Oh, yeah! Why doesn't Mommy and Daddy see you? They went in there," he points to the closet,"too but they didn't talk to you." he patiently looks up at the older boy with his big bright eyes.

How the hell do you explain paranormal phenomena to a six year old,"I'll tell you later." He uses the line his mother always used on him when he was younger.

"Okay...What's your name?"

The ghost has to open up to older memories to finally come up with the name that has been left unheard in this house for years,"Devon."

"Hi, Devon. I'm Ashton."

For the first time in sixty years Devon feels human.

"Ashton." He tests the name he already knew.

"Uh-huh." he states with a smile.

"You have to keep me a secret, okay. When other people are around you can't say my name and you can't talk to me."

"Okay, but why."

"...Because it's safer that way. People might...get wrong ideas if they know I'm here. You understand?"

"Okay, pinky-swear." he extends his pinky and looks at me with a raised eyebrow when I hesitate.

"Pinky-swear." I take his much smaller pinky with mine and pump our hands up and down once.

He grins and hugs his bear close to his chest.