Do You See Him?

"Come on up here, Baby Boy." I said, pulling my son up out of the bath water. I wrapped him up in his puppy dog towel complete with dog ears and laid him down on the carpet to get him dressed and ready for the day. He was wriggling around trying to escape as I dried him off and covered his tiny little feet with baby lotion. My daughter was still happily singing in the tub. She was splashing and making a big mess of bubbles on the floor while Gage squirmed like a tiny caterpillar, narrowly escaping the leg of his overalls. I grabbed his slippery little toes and slipped the overalls onto him, snapping them in place. He was free to escape at last. Gage took off crawling down the hallway making all the noises babies do.

"Your turn." I said to Jade, lifting her out of the warm bubble bath. I wrapped her up in her flower towel and took her outside of the bathroom to get her ready for her long busy day of play. I slipped her pink dress over her head and began to run the brush through her tangled baby curls.

*stomp stomp stomp*

One of the many joys of living in a trailer park was that the trailers were so close together. Close enough that you could hear people walking through their own trailer. It was ok though. This was our home. We had done this all on our own. No parents to help. No inheritance. Just my husband, myself, and the grace of God. We had taken a tiny trailer and turned it into our own cozy love nest. Perfect for us and our growing family.

"Ouch!" Jade protested as I pulled the brush through a little knot. She had such fine little waves and they tangled so easily. "Sorry, Baby." I told her, kissing the top of her head.

*stomp stomp stomp*

"Mommy." Jade said.

"Yes?" I said, squeezing some baby oil gel into her hair.

"Are we going somewhere today?"

"No. Mommy has a lot of housework to do today."

She curled up her face in frustration. "No park today."

I smiled, pulling her hair up into a pigtail, wrapping the end of her hair around my finger and enhancing her natural curls.

"Mommy." she said.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Who is that man?"

I turned my head to the side. "What man?"

"That one. In the kitchen." She pointed next to where Gage was laying, he had several of his toes in his mouth and was drooling all over his sock.

"You see a man?" I asked her.

"Mmhmm. Right there. In the kitchen."

"I don't see anyone, Baby."

"He's right there, Mommy!" she pointed again, "Right by the sink!"

"What does he look like?"

"Umm. He looks gross mom. His face has all red his head is a big boo boo."

My arms erupted in goose bumps. I couldn't see anyone. But I could hear the footsteps. I thought it was the people next door. What if it wasn't? I couldn't see anyone... but was Jade describing someone she could actually see? Part of the reason we weren't going anywhere today was because of the police tape surrounding the trailer across the lot. Our trailer park was currently crawling with police. A man had just ended his life after a fight with his wife. He had shot himself in the head. Would his face not be "all red"? Would his head not in fact be a big "boo boo"?

I put the hair supplies up and cautiously headed down the hallway, scooping up Gage from the kitchen floor. My eyes slowly scanned the kitchen. I couldn't hear any more footsteps. I couldn't see anyone. Was it real? Was she actually seeing something? I wasn't sure, but I thought it best to maybe play in the room today.

This is a true story about an experience I had with my daughter when she was about three years old. I have changed the names, but nothing else about the story has been changed. I still remember every detail of this moment in time. Over the years, my daughter has said several times that she see's people sometimes. I have also caught a video of my other daughter talking to someone I can't see. As a child, I experienced the same thing. What are your thoughts on ghosts? Are they real? Or are some of us just seeing and talking to things?

-Sara