"I told you I'd get us to Freddy's," said Nathaniel as he gazed up at the huge building.
"Yeah, but only after we wandered around for two hours," Timothy elbowed him. He sighed and let a smile show. "At least we're here."
"This place is huge," Timothy said in awe. "I wish I could have come here without being…" his voice trailed off.
"Aw come on, don't be sad. There's lots of cool things we can do now," Nathaniel reassured him. The older boy didn't feel confident or assured himself, but he couldn't bear to see Timothy cry anymore. "Hey, let's go inside."
The first thing the pair noticed was the three animatronics on the stage. "They're like giant versions of my toys!" Timmy jumped up and down with excitement. "I want to see them up close! Can I? Can I?" He pulled his companion up to the stage, too excited to care that they were walking through several people.
Nathaniel chuckled to himself, watching Timothy float up and try to climb on top of the singing robots. He couldn't help but think how lucky they were that they couldn't be seen, because owner's son or not, Timothy would definitely not have been allowed to do this in front of all the men setting up.
Suddenly, Nathaniel became aware that his little friend was no longer laughing. He looked over to see Timothy staring at something in the front of the room. The owner, his father, was standing by the entrance.
As if in a trance, Timothy walked over to the man. "Dad?" he asked quietly. The man kept talking to the employee he was with. Talking about being sorry for his loss. "Daddy? Please don't cry, Daddy! I'm right here! Please, just look over at me! I'm right here!" The little boy was becoming more and more frantic as his father continued to not notice him.
Nathaniel winced. He hadn't sought out his family or friends after he had died, precisely to avoid this. He couldn't think about them without crying, and he couldn't bare to face their sadness over him.
Timothy was practically screaming now. With a heavy heart, Nathaniel walked over to the boy and took his hand. "No! I have to tell him I'm here!" the child cried, breaking free. He sprinted after his father even after the man got into his car and began to drive. Nathaniel felt a pain in his chest. His friend was going to get lost if he tried to follow the car. He took off after his friend, catching him easily.
"There's nothing we can do for him," he told his distressed friend. The boy kept struggling, still trying to chase after the car that had long since disappeared. "There's nothing we can do." Timothy was screaming, completely beyond reason. Frustrated, Nathaniel grabbed the child's other arm and shook him. "There's nothing we can do for him! He can't see us, he can't hear us, and he can't touch us! There's no way for us to let him know that we exist! There's no way for us to let him, or your mom, or your brother, or my parents, or my friends, or anybody know that we still exist! Understand?!" Nathaniel didn't even notice the tears streaming down his own cheeks. Letting go of the boy's hands, he sank down on the curb and let himself cry. Nobody would ever find out that they still existed.
He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry for screaming," sniffled Timothy. Nathaniel looked up at his friend with guilt. Timothy shouldn't be apologizing. None of this was his fault. He didn't deserve to have to watch his own father come in every day and never be able to give him any sign that he was standing right next to him. Nathaniel wanted with all his heart to do something to make his friend feel better, but he had no power to do anything.
"Look," he pointed at the sky as Timothy sat down next to him. Timothy looked up. "See those stars?" Timothy nodded slowly. "Yeah, those stars up there, they're special. You can tell them anything, and they'll listen. They're always watching out for you, so nothing can ever be completely hopeless." That was the only thing Nathaniel could come up with to say, but it sounded sweet. "Those stars, I used to think that's where we go when we pass on. Up there, so high above everything, that's where we're supposed to go. Up there, nothing can make you sad. It'll just be you and me and all the rest of the stars, forever and ever." A few times, he had considered trying to float all the way up to the sky, but he knew it was too far away. Besides, stars were just giant balls of fire, trillions of miles away from Earth and each other, not some warm childhood fantasy place.
"That's where I've always thought Grandma and Grandpa were," Timothy said quietly. "Henry told me I was being stupid, but I still believed it. I know he misses them, too. Do you think we'll ever get to the stars?"
Nathaniel stared up at the sky. The stars were so far away. He didn't know why he and Timmy were still in the world, or where they were supposed to be, or how to get to that place. "I think we will," he finally said, "I know we will. I know we'll get there, someday. I think we just have to stay here a little longer."
"Just a little longer," Timmy echoed. He continued to stare at the stars. More and more were coming out as the moon rose.
Ghosts didn't need sleep, but it felt wrong to be out so late. "Come on, Timmy. Let's go back," he said, standing up. The little boy broke out of his trance and nodded. He took Nathaniel's hand and the pair walked back to the pizzeria.