You might suppose that half-life, almost like past life, might hunger for the warmth of

an actual body, and you would be mostly right, mostly. You're listening to Spookt. Stay tuned.

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For a while, as a boy in Detroit, we had lots of white neighbors. We played together, ran in and out of each other's houses,

ate at each other's tables, but then almost overnight. It felt like all the white boat left. Every single white person

vanished. Every one, but Charlie. Blue eyes, blind hair. One curl that stood straight up from the back of his head. Charlie. Still there. Digging in our sandbox out back, playing catch with my little brother in me. Still there.

When I asked Charlie when he was moving, Charlie looked at me funny. I ain't moving. He said, yes, you is. Y'all moving away. Nah.

Then Charlie, one day came over with his mom to say, goodbye. She said they were moving. She said, before they left,

Charlie had a gift he wanted to give me. Go on, Charlie. Go on. Go on. And Charlie handed me a box. I opened it little boy quick. And inside the box was a doll. And the doll looked just like Charlie.

The head, blind hair. Blue eyes smiling. But Charlie wasn't smiling.

Bye, Charlie said. Bye. I told him back. Then his mother hussled him away down the street.

I looked at the doll because my father didn't let us have dolls. But for some reason, pops it and take this doll away. We named him Charlie. After Charlie, never were removed chasing those missing white folk. The Charlie doll seemed to come with us.

And even after my little brother forgot all about Charlie, he still knew Charlie. Spiling up at us. Blind Charlie hair. Blue Charlie eyes looking just like Charlie. Almost like Charlie was still there. Charlie looking like he knew something we didn't know. Later on, we talk about Charlie at Thanksgiving at Christmas. My mom would say, y'all remember Charlie.

And I would wonder, never exactly sure what's Charlie she was talking about.

My name is from Washington. We leave a little of ourselves behind everywhere we go. Spook stocks. Now.

They're in the cow. Her husband works in the army. Just got a transfer to a military base in a small German town. Now, they've got the car all packed up. They've got the two kiddies strapped into the back seat. They're driving down the Autobahn.

Spooked.

In the car is my husband, my son, and my daughter, Maddie. And as we were driving towards the base, I noticed these three sickles.

They're large, concrete statues that are huge. It look like 20 stories up in the air. Even if you're a couple miles away, you cannot help. It's these three large sickles standing smack in the middle of the intersection.

When I see the sickles, I can't help but think of when my mom would say it, you know, in Chinese families, you just, there are just certain things that you don't give. You don't give a clock because it signifies death. You don't give knives because it signifies killings, you know, like you're about to strike someone.

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