He scooted closer, rested his head on my shoulder. I put my arm around him and we sat on the living room sofa, both of us quiet for a long time. We belonged together—our bare wrists, our hauntings. He was my family more than any of the others. I would do my best to help him, with whatever limited understanding I had.

“Mila, you ready?” Liz called from the kitchen. We were on dinner prep tonight.

“Go ahead,” Lee said, sitting up.

I put my hand on his cheek. “Are you sure?” I asked.

He nodded but I still saw sadness in his eyes. I hadn’t done enough, but I couldn’t think of anything else to try.

____________

The next Sunday’s market was teeming with people trying to get the last of the season’s tomatoes, sitting on the benches and curbs in the sunshine, knowing cooler weather would soon sweep in. We’d almost sold out of everything, only had a little left to trade. Liz bought a stack of novels from the bookstore with her day’s earnings. I saved mine. I didn’t know what I was saving up for, but it felt safer to keep it.

We spent the late afternoon on the beach, resting our bodies after all the time on our feet, and back at the farm we stayed up late again, watching the ghosts on the green again, drinking tea this time as the night grew late.

“Tell me about your lives before,” I asked them. It took courage, but I wanted to know so badly, knew I had to ask.

“My moms were total nomads,” Billy said. “We traveled all over the country in an Airstream. I got homeschooled, but mostly we just didn’t care about school. We cared about canyons and lakes and birds and the sun. But they were both estranged from their families, so when they died, I went straight into the system.”

I wanted to know how they died, but he would have told me if he’d wanted me to know. Instead I asked, “How old were you?”

“Twelve,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” I told him.

He tipped his face up to the moonlight. Closed his eyes. Opened them. “Thank you,” he said.

I looked at Liz. She took a sip of her tea.

“I was raised by wolves.” She turned to me and smiled.

“Funny,” I said, smiling back. “So was I.”

When I finally returned to my cabin, the night was deep and black and most of the ghosts had vanished. I built a fire and undressed. I pulled my nightgown over my head.