Chapter Text
It had taken a long time–maybe a little more than a few decades–but Todd Mortenson was finally living his life out and enjoying every second of it.
It had been a month since he left his old hometown back in America. By this point in time he had visited places like Japan, the Philippines, Australia, Bora Bora, and now he was in New Zealand with his childhood best friend and finally fulfilling their long held dream of seeing the world together. He couldn’t believe that he held out for so long, but boy was he glad he finally took the risk and went!
“So let’s see,” Adia looked over the list on her phone as they sat together while having breakfast. “We did the Milford Sound, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, paid a visit to Hobbiton, and you wanted to do–”
“Waitomo Caves,” Todd answered. “And then go eat some Hangi. Oh, or maybe Pavlova!” His mouth began to practically drool. “No wait, the cheese! Or fairy bread!” Gah, I can’t decide! Why is there so little time to have to eat so many good stuff?!”
Adia laughed. “Glad that I can always count on you to have an eye on local cuisines. Perhaps I should help set you up your own YouTube channel so that you can show off whatever food you eat on your travels. It might be a hit.”
“You know I’m not good with social media,” Todd nervously chuckled. “And I don’t know how I’d feel about a lot of online people watching me stuff my mouth–”
“It might help pay for your meals if you get sponsors,” Adia suggested.
“Ok, I’ll think on it,” Todd decided quickly.
“Well then,” Adia got up and stretched out before she turned to her old friend. “Ready for the next part of the adventure?” she asked as she held her hand out.
“Yes!” Todd happily answered as he took his friend’s hand and pulled himself up. “It’s going to be enhappifying!”
***
It was a bit of a trek to get down to the Waitomo caves, including going down a spiral walkway and being allowed to sprinkle some water upon oneself from the limestone well to chase away the bad spirits. Even though he did it for the experience, Todd doubted he’d ever need to chase any bad spirits away from himself with the sacred water. Anything close to bad spirits (be they bad luck or bad bosses) had long since gone away from his life.
But after some more walking, Todd eventually found himself in the darkness and drifting on a boat with many others along with Adia, who was recording all they saw. Dangling from the cave’s ceiling were the creatures that created an illusion of a starry night sky. A sea of bright blue twinkling lights that would occasionally twitch and flash a little brighter than usual.
He was breathless.
His old self would have believed the cave would collapse and leave him trapped. His new self just wanted to take everything in and live in the moment under the comforting blue lights.
How could he deny himself something so wonderful for so long? If only he could have shown his past self a glimpse of what he could accomplish. That he could be brave enough to stop fearing the world and instead embrace it in full. Maybe his anxieties would never go away but they could be managed with a bit of positivity and he was getting a lot better at that with each accomplishment.
Yes–Todd was finally living his life after decades of doing nothing with it. He had nothing to lose in staying in Brighton for the rest of his life–or what barely passed for a life. With his best friend after his side, and a nice sum of money that was barely spent on luxuries until now (and partly thanks to selling off that house), he finally had everything he could ask for.
He was finally happy.
****
The sun was shining on the day of the grand opening of the new Thai restaurant in Brighton.
Already the ‘San Phra Food’ was packed with hungry customers and future patrons. The air was filled with the divine scents of Tom Yum soup, mango sticky rice, Khao pad, larb, curry, and other amazing dishes. The red-brown walls were adorned with murals of lotus and hibiscus flowers, anthuriums, rubber tree leaves, and the goddess Nang Kwak was given her own special painting in a frame while a small statue of her waited near the entrance. The owner’s family helped out here and there, but her granddaughter–who was dressed in traditional Thai attire for the special occasion–greeted the customers at the front.
“Welcome to ‘San Phra Food!’” Molly greeted Ollie, June, and their parents as they came in. “Table for four?!”
“Whoa!” Ollie’s eyes widened in amazement. “This is incredible!”
“It smells so good!” Ollie’s dad, Reuben complimented.
“Right this way!” Molly lead the Chen family to a table close to a mural of hibiscus flowers. This spot was especially reserved with June in mind for it was in a small corner where the volume wasn’t going to be overwhelming.
“Oh, Sharon did a wonderful job!” Esther was in awe of the flowers that she and June examined.
June especially admired her mathematical contributions in the placement of where the mural should go. “I can’t wait to try something,” she confessed.
“Your server will be here shortly!” Molly promised as she handed out some menus to the Chens before she headed back to the entrance to greet the next set of newcomers.
She spotted Libby and her mother Leah eating green curry and mango sticky rice. Her best friend gave her a thumbs up of approval, to which Molly returned with a grin. Molly saw her own mom hand out menus she designed and it was clear that Sharon was happy to be anywhere but in the kitchens that she hated so much. The only McGee in the kitchen was her brother, who was a bit faster at making dumplings and who had improved upon the art-form ever since one fateful Thai holiday.
Numerous Brightonians had come, from Principal O’Connor to Mayor Brunson. Heck, even Andrea and her family were here. The young influencer had done a quick video to promote the new restaurant on her social media page before happily chatting with her parents and there wasn’t a single phone amongst the three.
“Oh my gosh, didn’t you take Mom out to a fancy dinner for your first anniversary in Chicago?!” Andrea asked her dad as she drank a Thai tea.
“He did,” Mrs. Davenport smiled as she looked at her husband. “That one woman with the ugly pink dress and bad tan job bumped into you and you spilled your fifty dollar wine on your shirt!” she laughed.
“Oh this is great!” Patty–a friend of Molly and her grandmother from the retirement house–declared as she tried the larb. “Nin can already consider me a patron! We should come back next month!”
“We should,” Linda–Patty’s close friend who got in a bit of a rough patch with her a while back, but had recently been able to atone and make up with her–agreed as she ate her own larb.
Molly heard a saying that good food brought people together. She beamed with pride–her grandmother certainly had her own ways of enhappifying everyone. When Patty saw the girl and waved, Molly happily waved back before turning to the next round of customers.
Some time later, an interviewer for the town’s local news came by and was able to get an interview with Nin Suksai–the owner of the new establishment. The old woman was also dressed in traditional attire for the day and was very satisfied that all had gone well.
“I still have so much energy at my age and I want to keep busy!” Nin answered the interviewer who wrote everything down. “And what better way to do that than open up a restaurant like old times!”
“Yeah… old times,” Sharon grumbled as hectic childhood memories came back in full while Pete stood beside her to try and keep her in check.
“Besides, there’s no Thai restaurants in town, so I seized the opportunity!” Nin declared. “And–how do you say it? Carp Day-em?”
“It’s carpe diem!” Molly told Grandma Nin from the side as she recalled the phrase that Pete once taught her. “‘Seize the day!’”
“I’ll just say ‘seize the day,” Nin shrugged.
“Could I get a photo of you and your family?” the interviewer asked as her photographer got his camera ready. “It might help your business if we show that its family owned.”
“Of course!” Nin agreed as she waved Molly over.
It took a few minutes for the rest of the family to come. Sharon was next, and Pete had to search for Darryl, who he pulled out of the kitchen.
“This won’t be good for my reputation,” Darryl grumbled.
“It will put your mother and I at ease if you have proof you held an actual, responsible job for a future resume,” Pete cautioned Darryl.
Finally everyone grouped together and were organized by height, though Nin was right in the middle between her grandchildren. Mayor Brunson was about to leave and stopped to watch the moment as everyone readied their smiles. Molly in particular was beaming like the sun.
“Looks like it’ll be a great photo!” Mayor Brunson complimented. “All of you McGees are here and accounted for! All four of you plus Mrs. Suksai!”
And just like that, Molly’s smile faded and her eyes grew dim.
Everything around her suddenly slowed down and went quiet, and she was lost to reality.
“Ok, just give me a sec,” the photographer readied his camera. “On the count of three!”
Sharon momentarily glanced to her daughter and noticed Molly’s melancholic expression. “Can you give us a second?” Sharon asked the photographer.
Sharon reached out to squeeze her daughter’s hand. Molly was startled and looked at her mother, who gave her an understanding smile. ‘It’s ok,’ Sharon mouthed. ‘Take your time.’
It was a moment the rest of the family–especially Nin–did not miss. They instantly knew why Sharon was reassuring Molly.
Molly nodded as she tried to smile and think happy thoughts. She turned back and smiled to the camera.
The rest of the family turned to the camera and smiled.
With a click of a button the photo was taken.
***
That night, Molly sat in the backyard with a blanket underneath her. The crickets were chirping and the night sky was full of stars so bright that they were like diamonds. She had been on her feet all day, but she didn’t want to rest in her room when the night sky was this clear and free of any pollution.
It had been such a wonderful day… or it was until–
He knew all about Nin’s restaurant and was eagerly awaiting opening day. How would they know that by the time construction would begin–
“Molly?”
Molly turned to see Sharon walk to the blanket. She sat down beside her and glanced up at the stars.
“Ah, the one thing that never changed when we moved around so much,” Sharon smiled. “The stars were always with us. We tried to tell you what the constellations were but in the end the only one we could identify was the Big Dipper.”
“I remember,” Molly smiled a little.
Sharon put an arm around her shoulder.
“We all miss Scratch too,” Sharon confessed. “I actually miss telling him to stop eating all our food and snoring so loudly. It was like having a third child who just happened to be ten years older than me or your dad,” Sharon realized that out-loud and winced. “Wow, we adopted a fifty-something year old man-child. Or ghost-child would have been more accurate.”
Molly chuckled a little before she sighed. “I forgot that people didn’t know that Scratch was always with us,” Molly confessed. “All those times he helped out, all those festivals, the meetings with the mayor–its like he never existed. Like he was never a part of our family to begin with. I wish they knew how much he did for Brighton and for us. No one would believe us and not if… I mean, they saw he was there, but not with us. Not with me.”
Sometimes she remembered that fateful festival, when Mayor Brunson presented that trophy to her and her family. Nearly all of Brighton never knew who was with the McGees on the stage–it was someone who gave so much, even when he didn’t want to, but was forced to hide from the public every time. Someone who should have been allowed to share in the moment and be allowed the choice to do so. Someone who could have been here today and would have been over the moon at the new restaurant, but be forced to wait until he could be free to order something for himself to eat when everyone was gone.
But no. To Brighton it was always just Molly, her brother, and her parents, and no one else.
Sharon nodded. “In a perfect world, he would never of had to make himself invisible,” she agreed. “He’d be doing everything with us.”
Molly was quiet for a moment.
“I know Scratch’s off exploring the world, but sometimes I hope he comes back,” Molly confessed. “He even said that maybe he’ll come back for a visit, just before he got on that bus. And maybe once he does, he’ll have done all he wanted out there, and he’ll finally remember me.”
“Well,” Sharon wasn’t sure what to say. She didn’t want to get Molly’s hopes up and she didn’t know just how much of the world that the missing member of the family wanted to see. “We’ve seen some truly bizarre things we didn’t think was possible, but we also experienced some wonderful miracles. If this community came together in our hour of need to help us get our house back, maybe he will remember. I’m sure he’ll want to give you the biggest hug when he sees you again.” Sharon hugged Molly for emphasis and a bit of luck. “And until then, you still have all of us here with you, and that in itself is a wonderful miracle.”
“Thanks Mom,” Molly smiled.
Sharon got up. “Well, don’t be outside for too long,” she reminded Molly.
As Sharon went back inside, Molly glanced back up at the sky full of stars.
She remembered that night, when she, Scratch, and Libby saw the comet. That was intended to be a forever memory for all of them, but–
Then she saw it–an enormous white star, brighter and bigger than any star in the sky. She let out a breathless gasp. It was like out of a fairy tale! It was like the star in all those Disney movies she watched since childhood that Scratch would pretend he didn’t care for but would watch along with her and then would sing one of the songs when he thought no one could hear him. (“Just as long as it isn’t Frozen!” he once grumbled to her. I’m sick of that one! If I hear ‘Let it Go’ one more time, I’m gonna ‘Let go’ of something on the rooftop!”)
What if this star could grant wishes? Oh, wouldn’t that be something! Molly excitedly thought of a lot of things she could wish for. For her upcoming high school years to be perfect and memorable! To be with Ollie together forever! For her and Libby to collaborate on a book together that would hit the best-seller list! To achieve world peace! To reduce pollution! To–
No… she knew what she wanted to wish for in that moment.
Molly clasped her hands in prayer as she looked up at the star. Maybe it wouldn’t hear her, but she had to try. After all, if ghosts were real, then why couldn’t a wishing star be real?
“Hi star,” she began. “My name is Molly, and I have a wish. It’s not a huge one, but it’s one that means a lot to me.”
Scratch deserved to live his life, even if she couldn’t be a part of it. But was she ever truly a part of his life if his time as a ghost didn’t count as a life?
“I have a friend named Scratch, but he goes by Todd Mortenson,” Molly continued. “He’s traveling the world with his best friend. He kept putting it off because he was scared of everything, but now he’s finally living, and happy, and doing what he’s always wanted to do. All I wish for is for him to be safe and that nothing bad will happen to him, so that he can get to do everything that he wanted to do in his life before he dies and becomes a real ghost.”
Molly wanted to add what she truly wanted to wish deep down in her heart.
She wanted to wish that Scratch would come back to her–that she’d be waiting at the bus stop when he returned on a beautiful sunny day. He’d come bursting out of the bus and say something like “Molly I’m back!” He would have remembered his time as a ghost, and thus remembered her and everyone else who knew and loved him. He’d give her a huge hug that she’d return and it would be the biggest hug she would have ever given him. He wouldn’t be a ghost anymore, but he’d be human and he’d be the one to nearly squeeze her in half instead of the other way around. Everyone would be together again, and this time he wouldn’t have to hide himself from Brighton.
But she couldn’t add that to the wish.
It would make the wish as it was now into a selfish wish and she didn’t want to jinx it (oh, now that was a word that she never wanted to hear again).
She could have been selfish when it mattered the most. She could have let him walk away from gaining back his human life, he’d still be with her and everyone else, and he’d never forget her. But his happiness mattered to her. He was happy now–she saw that in those videos Adia posted. She would never regret the choice she made in encouraging him to live.
“Thank you, star,” Molly finished. “And I promise I’ll still do good around Brighton while he’s traveling the world.”
The girl grabbed her blanket and headed back to the house. She took one last look at the star–which seemed a little brighter than before–and went inside.
***
“I’m never going to forget this,” Todd swore as he and Adia looked at the clip of the caves on her phone as they sat in their hotel room. “Not for as long as I live.”
“Same,” Adia agreed as the video finished and she got up. She had work to do to get it ready for her online channel before she could hit the hay for the night. “This’ll take me a bit,” she informed him.
“Take your time,” Todd assured Adia as he got up.
Todd walked out onto the hotel balcony and breathed in the night air. He could see real stars in the sky and thought of different time zones. Was it already the next day back in Brighton? His sense of time was already horribly off thanks to all the traveling, with his stomach being the only thing close to a reliable clock.
Wasn’t there a starry night like this when he finally decided to take control of his life? When he was suddenly hit with an epiphany and felt a sudden wave of joy and giddiness he hadn’t felt since he was a kid?
“Taking risks is what makes life worth living,” he whispered to himself.
He frowned. Where had he heard that phrase before? It just came to him out of the blue. He could have sworn he heard it on that night, but he couldn’t recall how. Was it something on his TV or in a book? It was like how that phrase ‘enhappify’ came to him, which he didn’t mind. That word made him feel… well… happy whenever he said or thought of it. It gave him a sense of comfort too that he liked.
He shrugged and decided to just take in his surroundings. He wanted to focus on the present and what was right before him. Life was short and he was going to make the most of it.
***
The Ghost Friends gathered at the McGee house to play Mario Kart. Or more like ‘Mario Kart: death race edition’ (the name courtesy of Darryl and Libby). Popcorn was thrown, as well as curses no kids their age should utter.
“Blue shell!” Darryl yelled as he summoned the item which went to attack Ollie.
“NO!” Ollie wailed in dismay when he was struck. “I just got out of second place!”
Darryl laughed, only for June to zip past him and her brother, thanks to a golden mushroom power-up, which caused him to stop. The girl was in deep concentration as she maneuvered her way to first place. She happily relaxed when she crossed the finish line.
“Be careful with your speed and you’ll win without a single crash or fall,” June declared.
“I agree!” Libby smiled as she ate some popcorn.
Molly felt the urge to get her phone and take pictures. However she left her phone in her room. “Be right back!” Molly said as she got up. “Don’t start without me!” She added as she rushed to the stairs.
Less than a minute later, Molly got into her room in record time and found her phone on her bed. Perfect! Now she could take photos!
Molly took the phone and was about to leave when her eyes landed on something–the dollhouse.
The inspiration behind the restaurant’s name no longer bore its sole occupant. Any remaining food that would go uneaten had been cleaned out, but it was otherwise untouched except to keep dust from forming on the surface. It was a bittersweet reminder of what once was to the teen girl, but she couldn’t bring herself to put it away, even if seeing it invoked too many memories. Maybe she liked remembering the good memories too much to bear losing the San Phra Phum.
If she was allowed to remember, why couldn’t Scratch?
He could have been with the rest of the Ghost Friends right now. A bright, light blue soul joined with a summer orange soul, a raspberry pink soul, a grass green soul, a turtle green soul, and a sunshine yellow soul.
Molly’s eyes then drifted to a painting on the wall, next to her window and just behind and above the dollhouse–her and Scratch happily smiling and hugging, frozen in a moment where they were together forever.
She made the image before, but it was ruined and she had to make it anew. It was meant to be a surprise decoration Molly was going to reveal on that day to her first forever friend after the fateful festival, but then–
Molly took a deep breath.
“I still have my family,” she reminded herself. “I still have Libby, Ollie, June, Andrea, and many others. I still have my house, and I still have all that I need. Scratch is where he needs to be.”
If Scratch could live–truly live–then so could she. And who knows? If they couldn’t reunite in this life, then they certainly would in the next one when both of them were ghosts. After all, they were the dream team for all eternity.
Molly went down stairs and rejoined her friends and brother.
Minutes later she was wrapped up in the game and focused all her energy on trying to beat Libby, June, and Darryl while Ollie served as cheerleader for everyone. Her adrenaline from the game kept her focused as her ears were filled with the sounds of everyone having a good time. Eventually she won the round and happily cheered out before taking a victory drink of her soda.
She was truly living, just like any girl her age should.