Putting My Ghost to Rest
Snake’s Last Story
June 2023
He looks older than he did the last time I saw him. Eyes tired and face lined. He says he didn’t sleep last night.
The energy drink perks him up; I am surprised at how animated he becomes. I suppose I shouldn’t be.
“My meds kinda stopped working,” he confesses to me. “It’s OK,” I say, although it’s not like he was seeking my approval. It’s not unheard-of for medication which has reliably been doing its job to suddenly stop doing its job.
I can tell. He is more erratic than he has been in the past — but still very much himself — interrupting himself, playing snippets of songs and video clips. Talking to all the kids and Jester and me all at the same time. I have trouble keeping up.
He takes the kids outside to walk through the woods at Jester’s suggestion. “You don’t think he’ll get tired of them?” I ask, peering out the window.
“Nah,” Jester says, “besides, I could tell you needed a little bit of quiet.”
Snake has isolated himself for so long. The weeks will slip by after today without a word from him again and it will make me wonder — is he so afraid of how people perceive him? Does he feel like he has forgotten how to act around people? Is he simultaneously craving attention and…
