The Phantom Connection

It was the perfect kind of Halloween weather — cold enough to make your face tingle, but warm enough that your mom doesn’t force you to bring a jacket.

“Bye, mom!” Sophie yelled as she let the screen door slam shut behind her. She dashed down the street, her feet barely touching the ground as her black swan costume shimmered under the porch lights.

“I’m going to make this Halloween the best one yet!” She whispered to herself breathlessly while waving hello to the neighbors, smiling in her direction.

But when Sophie got to the park, Eleyna wasn’t there. “Maybe she’s just late?” Sophie reassured herself.

She sat on the swings and looked around. The sound of children laughing floated over from the distance. The porch lights twinkled just around the corner of the block. Sophie and Eleyna chose to meet at this spot because they wanted to be seen at the same time. So Sophie had no choice but to wait.

In the silent park, the creek of the swings was the only noise. Despite being unoccupied, the swing beside Sophie moved. Sophie’s heart skipped a beat every time she glanced at her phone. Then she saw it — a story of Eleyna and Max dressed as a black and white cat, captioned “Best Duo Ever!!!” Sophie’s heart sank. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the chains of the swings. Her thumb trembled as she scrolled through the people who viewed the story and the comments. But still, no messages for her. The light of her phone illuminated her face. Sophie blinked hard, but the screen still blurred.

Sophie kept scrolling. Gradually, looking through her friends’ Halloween posts became doomscrolling. Slowly but steadily, the dangers of social media sank their fangs into her, deeper and deeper… until the screen froze. She had run out of data.

Sophie cursed. What happened to her perfect Halloween? Even her phone didn’t like her.

“Girl, you need to get some more data.”

Sophie froze. Her heart jumped up to her throat. She slowly turned around to face the voice, then froze again. The girl in front of her was beautiful. Golden hair, sharp features, and a white dress floating around her invisible wind. She was also translucent. Sophie could vaguely see right through her.

“Hello? Never seen a ghost before?” The girl giggled.

“Uh, what?” Sophie stammered, still staring.

“A ghost, of course, I already said that. But that’s not the point. The point is, are you going to get some more data?” The girl rambled on, unaffected by Sophie’s bewilderment, “A girl’s got priorities.”

“I mean, yeah, absolutely, I’ll get more data just because a ghost told me to,” Sophie said.

“Perfect! Oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Sylvie, and I already know who you are from your profile. Nice to meet you!”

“Hi Sylvie, so like, can we please go back to the whole ghost phenomenon?”

Sylvie chuckled, “I’m a ghost! What else can I say? But that’s off topic. Now, how about we go get some last-minute Halloween candy and you get me that data, so I can keep scrolling?”

Sophie laughed, “Sure,” but then stopped, “Oh, you’re serious.”

“I’ll take that as a yes! Hurry up, follow me!” Sylvie clapped, grinning.

Sophie paused. She did hear the park was haunted, but she didn’t expect to find such a preppy ghost here. Perhaps she wasn’t even a ghost. Maybe it was just another elaborate prank. Sophie thought about it. But Eleyna is leaving her? That was real. So who cared about Eleyna anyway?

She felt a sudden wave of determination. She would save this Halloween. She would still make it the most memorable one she’s had.

“Sylvie, wait for me!”

As you’d expect, a ghost and a black swan attracted a lot of attention. Soon, it was all over social media that a super-realistic ghost and a super-pretty black swan were wandering around. At every turn, the two were stopped for pictures. By the end of the night, dodging parents had become a well-practiced skill.

“Did you see that guy’s costume? It was hilarious!” Sylvie howled as the two strolled down the street. As the two walked by, the lights on each porch flickered out until only the streetlight ahead was still lit. After all the commotion and chaos, peace settled around them like a chilly blanket — the night air was perfectly cold and still.

Sylvie grinned, “You humans sure know how to party. Even though everyone is glued to their screens.”

“Yeah, maybe I need to unplug tonight.” Sophie agreed.

When they walked just under the ring of light the streetlight cast, Sylvie stopped.

“Well, this is where I disappear.”

Sophie frowned, “Disappear? What do you mean?”

Sylvie’s voice grew softer, and her glow dimmed a little. “On Halloween, I get to come out. But I have to go back now. Ghost rules, you know?”

Sophie’s throat tightened. “So you’re leaving?”

Sylvie winked and said, “Just for now. Next year at the same time? But with more data?”

Sophie blinked away tears and laughed, “Agreed.”

With a final shimmer, Sylvie faded away into the crisp October air, leaving behind only the sound of her lively laughter. For a moment, Soiphe stood in the glow of the streetlight, feeling strangely content.

She thought about Eleyna, the sting that had begun her night, and the ghost that ended it as she made her way home. She smiled faintly as the wind rustled the last of the leaves.

The deserted park glistened dimly in the moonlight as Sophie made her way home, as though the air still remembered the sound of Sylvie’s laugh. Perhaps Eleyna had been growing farther from her a while before tonight. It wasn’t until someone brighter like Sylvie brightened it that Sophie realized. Some friendships fade away, some haunt you, and some, like Sylvie’s, come back once a year.