June watched as her daughter walked past the living room, chattering away.

“Who are you talking to, Amy? You know you’re still grounded from last weekend.” She called out sternly.

“I’m talking to Nana, Mom.” Amy replied with typical teenaged attitude. June stopped folding the laundry in shock.

“Amy, Nana died last year.” She said quietly.

“Well duh. But she’s also standing right there!” She insisted, pointing at the air beside her. June tried her best to stay calm.

“Amy, there’s no one there.” The teen rolled her eyes in exasperation, turning to address the space beside her.

“See what I mean? She’s just blind as always.”

“AMY JENNIFER EVERIDGE!” June rose to her feet in anger. “Do you expect me to believe you are talking to the ghost of my mother?” Amy glowered back at her mother, her stance echoing her mother’s set hips.

“No, I don’t expect you to believe anything. You’ve never believed anything I said. Even when Theodore told me about Dad’s accident, you told me he was just ‘an imaginary friend’.” She turned on her heels and stomped off, leaving June still standing in shock as the bedroom door slammed.

June continued folding numbly. She thought back to that day, 7 years ago, when the company had called. She had been in shock that day as well, and far too panicked to consider what her daughter was saying about her imaginary friend as she’d loaded her into the car for the drive to the hospital. She’d never stopped to process it afterwards either, there was too much to worry about with Fred. But she as she tried to recall, the memory came up crystal clear, as if it had been stored away for later review and she was only just uncovering an old video in a forgotten box. There was Amy in the backseat of the car, telling her not to worry, that Theodore said Daddy had gotten his foot stuck in the machine, but they stopped it quickly and the doctors said it would be alright. She’d dismissed it as just a little girl’s rambling about an imaginary friend, not important at the moment. But she’d been right.

June walked quietly down the hall to the door proudly decorated in beads and stickers. She could hear quiet talking inside, but it stopped as she rapped on the door.

“Amy?” She hesitated. “What is Nana saying?”