Lena Passo is 13. Her sister killed herself 2 years ago. Depression is her demon. Her sister is her ghost.

Mark Elive is 11. He gets a good meal maybe once a week. Hunger is his demon. Food is his ghost.

Jordan Nance is 13. Their step dad beats them twice a week. Pain is their demon. Their mom is their ghost.

Lee Parker is 12. They get bullied for wearing a dress to school. Fear is their demon. Safety is their ghost.

Lena walks home from school, kicking rocks and staring at the ground. She takes a detour through a cemetery. The cemetery. Her sister’s cemetery. You can’t really call it a detour, she takes this route every day. She has become friends with the residents, doesn’t have any at school, but that’s all right. The living can hurt you and betray you and die. The dead are loyal, the dead can never leave you, because they already have.

Mark is working on a drawing. It’s his best yet, he’s getting better. He draws with charcoal. He sharpens a hatchet, chops down wood from a grove nearby, puts most of it in the firewood pile, but takes a small piece of one log and burns half of it enough to turn it to charcoal but still be sturdy enough to draw with. He treats it as a pencil, and is drawing on a slab of rock.

“Never an honest word, but that was when I ruled the world.”  “Alright, that was very good everyone, see you next Tuesday.” The choir dispersed, people chatting and getting their bags, exiting the music room. Jordan and their friend Alex walk down the hall towards the door. “You walking home?” asks Alex, looking up at Jordan. “Well I’m sure I’ll end up there eventually, but I’d really rather postpone that for as long as I possibly can.” Alex smiled. “Where are you going now then?” they ask slyly. Jordan smiled back. “I don’t know, do you have any suggestions?” “Well,” Alex says, interlacing their hand with Jordan’s.  “We haven’t been to Loca Mocha in a while.” “Sounds perfect.”

It’s 6:45 a.m on a Thursday morning. Lee stares at the T-shirt and jeans laid out on the floor. Their inner compass is firmly parked on feminine. There are several dresses in the closet that she would love to wear, and her Mom is not home to forbid it. But last time Lee wore something as feminine as a dress to school, Brian and Gina were... not using the kindest of words, to put it lightly. Not that their opinions matter, but they did sting. But wearing something masculine, or even gender neutral, would sting more. Lee puts the shirt and pants back in the closet and gabs a dress.

Lena stares at her sister’s alter, tears running down her cheeks. She’s mastered the art of silent crying, so her parents don’t hear her. The altar is in the family room, if you can even call that any more. Lena’s sister, Maria, was the only one who ever really spent time in here. She would always do her homework in here, spending hours on it. She was 14 ½ when she died. When she was in middle school, she loved to spend time with Lena and their parents. They would all play games in the dining room, laughing and having fun. But once Maria got to high school, it was like she was an entirely person. She was always doing homework, and she pushed away her family. Thinking about it, a fresh bout of silent sobs struck Lena.

Mark hated the evening. It is his least favorite time of day. Mama makes him come in house at 5:30, and stay there until 7:30 in the morning. Mark’s sister, Jane, is always crying or whining, and it makes Mark sad to see her so unhappy. Mama was always cranky, which also made him sad. Mark can’t blame her though, if he didn’t have his art he would be very irritable as well, but it was still not fun to be stuck in a house with a difficult 6 year old and a grouchy mother. And, there was never enough food. That’s why Mama and Jane were always upset, there was never a good amount of food. Mama worked two jobs, and Cassandra, Mark and Jane’s older sister who was never home, worked two more, but still. Not. Enough. Money. And not enough money equaled not enough food. Ever.

At 6:00, two hours after choir, Jordan decided they should probably head back to their house. Alex headed to the library, not having a house. Alex’s parents died in a fire that also destroyed their home a couple months ago, and not wanting to go into foster care, Alex had been on the run ever since. Jordan often thought about how lucky they were to even have a home, but it was kind of hard sometimes to think about how fortunate they were when there was Steve in the picture. Steve was Jordan’s Mom’s husband. Before he lived with them he seemed nice enough.   Not really good or bad, just kind of there for dinner sometimes. But once he and Jordan’s mom got married and Steve came to live with them…things got a whole lot worse. Steve was still amazingly nice to Jordan’s mother, so that was good, and fairly nice to Jordan’s younger brother, Timothy, and Jordan’s twin brother, Nicholas, but it was something about Jordan. Something that made Steve absolutely despise them.

Walking through St. Parker’s Academy, Lee gets several weird looks. Despite them, she looks straight ahead and walks to her locker. Most everyone else at the school is christian, and they’re sure to all be whispering about “the boy in the dress”. Lee’s friends Lola and Andrew come up to her. “Duuuuude” says Andrew. “What the hell?” Lola elbows him, looking at him purposefully. She then turns her gaze to Lee, looking concerned. “Umm, are you ok?” She signs. “Are you feeling alright?”  “I feel just fine.” Jordan signed back. “Wait, what did you say?” said Andrew, who is still learning sign language. Jordan translates for him. “Oh.” Said Andrew. “Umm… like, are you sure? ‘Cause like, why else would you wear that?” Lee sighs. “I’ve tried to tell you before,” she says, signing it at the same time. “I’m-” Lee stops short. She sees Brian and Gina. And Brian and Gina see her.

It is Dia de Los Muertos. Lena and her mom and dad all view Maria’s altar together. The have put candles and flowers and food on it for the special occasion, and moved abuela's altar next to it. Lena’s mom has a hand on her shoulder. Her dad has his arm around her mom. They all have tears running down their cheeks, and sad smiles on their faces. Lena’s mom whispered “It’s good to remember they’re in a better place now, watching over us.

After mama had put Jane to bed, she and Mark sat down on a tattered rug in the opposite corner of the house. “I have some good news.” Said Mama. Mark looked up. Mama was smiling for the first time in weeks. “What is it?” Asked Mark, Mama’s smile making him excited. “Cassandra is coming home tomorrow.” She had been in the neighboring city for her job. “And she sent a letter saying she was getting more money than she expected.” “That’s great!” Mark exclaimed. “And that’s not all” Mama said, her smile widening. “I have gotten a promotion! One that should give me twice as much money as before!” “Mama that’s amazing!” Mark exclaimed once again. “I know.” Said Mama, hugging him. “Luck is coming to us again.”

Jordan slowly opened the door, trying to be as quiet as possible, but their mom was right there waiting for them. “Hey mom.” Said Jordan, their eyes darting around the room. No sign of Steve. “Is Steve here?” “No, he’s, he’s gonna be gone for a while.” She said, looking at the ground. “We're… taking a break.”  “Oh.” Said Jordan, raising their eyebrows. “Ok.”  “Um, why?”  Jordan’s mom looked uncomfortable. “Um, you know, well,” Jordan cut her off. “It’s fine mom. I think you made the right decision.” Her mom looked up. “Thank you.”

Lee lies on her bed after school. After Brian and Gina spotted her, Andrew and Lola quickly left. Some friends. Brian and Gina went over to her, and Brian pushed her up against a locker. Gina giggled her stupid little laugh and called Lee a faggot. Brian chuckled and pushed her down onto the floor. They then both walked back to class. As Lee got off the floor she was only thinking one thing: It could have been so much worse. As she lies on the bed she smiles, because she was brave enough to face her fears.