respect the dead
1 2-30-2021 Respect the Dead After a period of cautious happiness, the girl realizes that maybe you really can’t have everything. Out of the blue, as she emerges from her self-erected prison, others choose to go back in. Bright, complex individuals become shadowy, pixelated presences in the back of her head, emerging only to whisper cautious words of advice at the worst times. Sage, solemn, too perfect to demonize, to real to glorify, these ghosts haunt the young girl. Why does it hurt so much to be ghosted? To show someone your evolving inner self, to willingly rip open your rib cage, reveal the bright colors, the metal workings, even your rusted spots, and watch as that person places a knife into the center of your chest, breathing slowly, avoiding eye contact. To touch the spine of a book, look out at a lake, drive past a street sign, and think of that eternal ghost, calmly living their own adventure somewhere far away from your mind, with their shadow still chained...