If Catfish Had Nine Lives(87)

            “Yes.”

            “And what are all those folks doing over there?” He nodded toward the campsite.

            “It’s a long story, but none of them can see you. You will only be able to talk to me and Betts, and perhaps any other ghosts that might be around.”

            Astin blinked rapidly. I looked at Gram—was he going to faint or something? But she stood patiently with her hands on her hips. She didn’t seem to be concerned, so I didn’t think I needed to be either.

            “Well, I’ll be,” Astin said. “This is as strange as a purple lightning bug.”

            “And it’ll probably get even stranger,” Gram said with a smile, “but I’m glad you understand what I’m saying.”

            “I do. I really do.” He scratched his head. “I sure wish I could remember something other than my name. Anything would be good.”

            “That’s normal,” Gram said. “You’ll remember a few things the longer you’re here. You won’t stay forever, though. If you’re like the others, you’ll come and go.”

            “That right?” Astin sniffed.

            “Yes, that’s right,” Gram said.

            “What do I do now?”

            “Anything you want. You can go pretty much anywhere around Broken Rope. Lots of you go back to the places you lived. Or died. Or were killed. After you remember things, of course.”

            “There’s lots of us?”

            “Yes.” Gram and I both looked at Joe. Astin didn’t seem to care much about the other ghosts in the vicinity, but Joe was certainly taken by Astin. He and his horse were stone still as they stared at our new visitor.

            “I’ll be,” Astin said again. “Maybe I’ll go out by where my house was.”

            “That’s a good idea.” Gram looked at me and shrugged. “But you might want to know that there’s a mystery around your death. Any chance you want to try to remember some of those details and clear that up for us?”

            “I don’t understand.”

            “You disappeared. Out on the trail. You up and disappeared,” Gram said.

            “I disappeared? Did I have any kin?”

            “Yes, you were married and had a baby, a son.”

            “That’s terrible that I left them.”

            “Not the best way to leave this world, but it was a long time ago. The pain that your demise caused is long dead, too, Astin. It’s been well over a hundred years.”

            Astin whistled. “This shouldn’t be happening, should it?”

            “No, it shouldn’t, but it does, and we deal with it.”

            “Why can you two see me?”

            “We have no idea.”

            “Wait, a name just came to me. Was my son’s name Charlie?”

            Gram looked at me.

            “Yes,” I said. I leaned over and spoke quietly in Gram’s ear. “Can I tell him what his son did when he grew up?”

            “Sure.”

            “Astin, your son grew up and ran the general store. He was successful.”

            “That’s good news.”