So we all know the harvest moon wasn't last night, so why not have some fun with that? Also it's halfway through September that means it's time to get  S P O O K Y 

TW: mentions of suicide.

STORYTIME!

There's a rumor on the block that the abandoned mansion at the top of the hill is haunted, and on every harvest moon the spirit comes back to haunt the entire neighborhood. Friday the thirteenth on the Harvest moon... the perfect time for things to get creepy. 

It's also the perfect time for Remy to play truth or dare with his friends and get dared to spend the entire night alone in the haunted mansion. He didn't care. He didn't believe in ghosts or whatever. He's not a pansy. So that's why he's here, playing Touhou on his phone while leaning against the old creaky wall.

"You're not supposed to be here."

Remy looked up from his phone to see someone who looked to be his age in literally nothing but a zipped up purple hoodie and some black socks with little pastel colored planets all over them. The hoodie covered their body down to their middle thigh and their hair was the classic 2007 emo haircut. 

They were sitting in the chandelier, watching and waiting for Remy to move or leave the mansion. He never did. Remy just looked up and laughed, knowing that this has to be a prank on him or something. Odd that he didn't recognize the the fake ghost. He knew everybody in this town.

"Oh that's funny. Who are you? New to the neighborhood? That or your makeup is so good I can't recognnize ya, kid. Gold star for trying to spook me though, kid."

Remy stood up  hands on his hips. He was genuinely impressed, but not scared at all. The kid who was on the chandelier rose an eyebrow before jumping off of their seat. Remy felt their blood go cold when they didn't instantly fall to the ground. Wait, they have to have invisible wires holding them, right? Remy didn't see any wires. The kid floated down right in front of Remy's face, clearly not amused. 

"Why are you in my home? Are you trying to test your courage by forcing yourself to be in my company? The living do that all the time. It's quite depressing that the only day I can come back to the living world that people use me for their own personal game. I mean gain."

The ghost shook their head disappointedly, crossing their arms and flying a bit higher and back  away from Remy. Remy felt himself get very scared, fighting the urge to tremble. But Remy sucked it up for the sake of his pride. The ghost clipped through the wall and came right back, having a baseball bat now in their hands. They looked so annoyed and bored like this was a very mundane chore they didn't want to do. House keeping anyone? Remy had maybe three seconds to make an excuse and/or explain himself before he was gonna come a ghost himself.

"Yoooo Hey let's not get ahead of ourselves here, ghost person. Listen, uh, yeah this was a dare but why not make the most of it yeah? The name's Remy, he/him pronouns. Why don't we just out down the chat and maybe have a chat."

The ghost just stared at Remy, sitting down in the air. They crossed their legs and dropped the bat, it slowly floating down to the floor. It didn't touch the floor though, it merely hovered. It was a ghost bat. The ghost just hovered there in the air, watching Remy for a moment. They finally decided to give in to the mortal's request.

"My name's Virgil. They/them pronouns for me. Why are you trying to talk to me? You should be afraid of me. You are a human and I am undead. You just don't want me to hurt you and you're trying to distract me, aren't you? Well, that bat can't hurt you anyway. I can't hold onto  atiwral objects in this world so that bat would just psss right through your body anyway. But you're name is Remy, hmm? I've never heard that one before."

Virgil was their name. The ghost was named Virgil. They fell through the floor in a belly flop and they rose back up with some sort of milkshake somehow. It was absolutely creamy, but the casualness of the situation calmed Remy's nerves. That's nice.

"So do you have anything you want to talk about or anything you wanna know? Since you're kinda dead and all."

"No. Since I'm stuck in purgatory for all eternity I'm forced to watch life live on without me. I can only interact with the world on harvest moons, blue moons, exetera. But sometimes the gate opens on a random new moon which many people like, but I could care less. I mean, I'm a kid who killed themself in 2008 so I really have nothing to come back for except this mansion. I used to play here all the time. Actually I hung myself here. It was kinda dope."

Remy fell silent, the entire atumsphere growing more melancholy with the mention of Virgil's own suicide. They just shrugged and slipped on the milkshake they had, not having a care in the world. I mean, why should they care? They're dead. Suddenly their eyes lit up for now reason. Oh? What's this?

"Wait but dude have you seen all the black cats who live in his mansion now? I was allergic to cats when I wasn't alive but now I can be around them all the time! I can't pet them still, but it's great to just be near them and nap with them ya'know? It makes me feel like my afterlife has purpose to come back to them every time the gate opens."

The first smile Remy saw from them. As if it wasn't perfect timing, a little kitten pushed through a rotted door and walked up to Remy, brushing against his leg. Virgil gasped, stars filling their eyes. They floated down and hovered over the ground right next to Remy. He snickered and took the kitten Into his lap. The black kitten began to purr, closing their eyes 

"Oh my goodness your reaction was totes adorbs, babes. You really like cars, dontcha?"

"Mmm."

They reached over, their hand phasing through the cat. They didn't care. They still stroked the cat. Remy decided to help them out, putting his hand through theirs and petting the cat for them. They smiled again, laughing softly. Remy felt his face flush a bit. What the hell did he have to be afraid of?! This soft little ghost person who just wants to pet a cat!?

Remy had a pleasant night with his new friend, and he did the dare happily.

1140 Words

Everyone deserves love and friendship. Period.

Yo, trust me, don't off yourself. You are a beautiful and talented human being who will always have a chance in this diverse planet we live in. I may be a bit naive, but I know there will always be a chance for you. There will always be potential in you. There is always a chance for a happy ending. Always.

Internet hugs and blow kisses!

~Eva