Chapter 21. Anita, intermission, and ghosts at the petting zoo!

I'm Narrie Trish Middle creek and guess what? My circus birthday party is being haunted by people I never got to meet except in my dreams..!

I know this because Momma Kate talked to one of them as she and imaginary Grampa Alexander were telling the intermission adoption dogs to wait!

That was right after we bowed and waved around to everyone, and listened to Mr Blister say, "And now for an intermission! Where we will have a little dog show folks, these dogs need homes. And..!" He huffed and let out a nervous exclamation! "I, I would be very surprised if nobody can help..!"

Way to put the guilt on people huh?! At least it's better then the "Do you have room in your heart?" ads, and then Mom would tell me, "Hun, I live out of a backpack and we share a twin, I don't think we have room in our flat."

Well... That's all in the past when we went out into the petting zoo and Ben exclaimed, "THAT WAS GREAT!"

(Picture of a petting zoo with family!) Ben exclaimed, "EVEN BETTER THEN WE REHEARSED!"

"Honey," Mom just looked at me and asked, "Are you okay?"

Sigh... She know something freaked me out there, it's not the mock fire, we rehearsed that several times, it's the...

(Picture of ghosts grandparents waving and by a cow fence at circus petting zoo.)

"I..." I know I'm just overwhelmed and tired... And I know that I'm probably genetically crazy...

I mean, I don't really know that but Mom always says that Dad was crazy and I also know that "my brain is still developing..."

But... Is it okay to want to go up to my imaginary grandparents who I think that I'm watching them wave to me and...

I mean like going up and saying "Hi" to that cow that Grammy Trish is hugging is...

That would really make me look crazy right?!?

Well instead. I laughed!

"Ha ha ha." I laughed the shakes out of my shoulders and admitted, "I just thought I saw a ghost."

"A ghost?" Ben opened his eyes wide and exclaimed, "Again!?! Like.. This tent might actually be haunted???"

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"Oh sweetheart, I didn't think that you still thought ghosts were still icky?" Mom remembered how I used to get spooked, I still get kinda uncomfortable, but... "Just remember that they can't hurt as baby, but they can remind us of things."

Remind us of things..?

See... Even though I never got to meet Momma Lauri's parents, I think that's them because they look the same as the photographs on refrigerator.

"So Narrie." Ben started to ask just when as my cousin Anita was coming over! "Hey! Why are you smiling?"

Picture of Narrie's cousin Anita giving her a high five.)

"Because." I told Ben with a bit of sass just before Anita gave me a high five!

"That was so cool!" Anita gave Ben a high five and then chuckled at our funny chicken costumes..!

Picture of our funny chicken trapeze costumes.

Yes, that's why I hid the photos! I did not want to tell you... But then, my older and really mature cousin Anita might have asked me, "So you think I'm too old to learn that trapeze stuff? I mean like..."

This is why I said "might".

"Because I've always wanted to go mountain climbing and really hope they kinda have some climbing clubs at college or something really close by because I once went rock climbing with some other kids one time and well..." She hushed in my ear and then told me, "They didn't wear harnesses!"

Okay, if that was too many words, totally feel free to skip whatever my cousin is saying.

"And I'm like, NO!" Anita started her funny story that I would usually love if not for several amazing things happening right now! "I ain't gonna crack my skull again, and they were like, "Oh, wear a helmet if your so scared," and the thing is that like... I broke my leg once RIDING A BIKE! So like, I am NOT going to go rock climbing without a harness. Okay,"

'Hey Ben?' I looked at the boy who actually wears a watch and mentally asked him, 'When do we have to go again?'

"I mean like," Anita started, "I figure that if I break stuff doing like relatively safe stuff like riding a bike, I'm going to definitely get hurt and stuck in the hospital like all season long if I go rock climbing without a harness so like of course I'm not going to go without a harness you know!"

And here is a picture of my cousin Anita spinning her finger around like the second hand on a watch.

"But like, you guys learned how to spin with the hoops like an acrobat and Aunt Laurie said that you like just learned this like last week, in town???"

"And I was like, "Really?" I told her, "So I'd have an excuse to come to town on the weekends if they can like... Teach me too? Because Narrie! That looked really cool!"

"Aaand Now!!!" Mr Blister was heard over the loud speaker system, "What maybe some of you have been waiting for! When our cast comes together for the continuation of the dog show and adoption!"

"Oh gotta get my seat!" Anita ran back to her seat.

Sigh, I clucked like the chicken I did not really want to be, I wanted to be a colorful bird of paradise! But all they had were these chicken costumes!

So with a laugh we left the petting zoo and I told Ben, "Anyways, I'm pretty sure they're happy ghosts."

"Wait..!" I could just hear Ben gulping. He's in the theater and been practicing you know, "There's... More than just one ghost?"

Well I just peaked in back of me and waved to the nice couple who I get to feel like they really are watching over me and yeah...

So what if an older kid has imaginary friends? HUH!?!