Mila and the Little Ghost

Mila is scooping out pumpkin seeds. Then something howls upstairs:
Whoooo!
“Only the wind,” says Papa.
But the wind doesn’t live in the attic. Does it?

Step by step, Mila climbs up.
The torch comes too.
Under one sheet stands an armchair.
Under another, a wardrobe.
They stand very still.
But that little sheet back there …
Did it wobble?

“Whoooo!” calls the sheet.
“Eek!” calls Mila.
The light jumps all the way to the ceiling.
Then the sheet squeaks:
“Help! A human!”
Whoosh, it vanishes behind a chest.
Who is scared of whom here?

“My name is Wisp,” whispers the ghost.
“Humans are so big.”
Mila sits down.
“Is that better?”
A little nod.
“And it’s dark, too,” murmurs Wisp.
His hem is trembling.
“Then let’s do something with light.”

With two hands, Mila makes a bunny hop.
Then a bird flutters. A crocodile snaps after it.
Hee-hee instead of Whoooo!
Wisp giggles. Even his white hem goes see-through.
“The bunny again!”

“Come and look!”
Mila points outside.
Pumpkins and lanterns glow everywhere.
Wisp presses up close to the window.
“So many lights!” he gasps.
“I thought Halloween was dark.”
He shuffles a little closer still.

Mama is waiting with the book.
“Good night, Wisp,” says Mila.
The torch stays. Just in case.
Sometimes it still shines late at night.
Maybe the bunny needs a light.