On top of a mountain, inside a thick forest, stood an undoubtedly haunted mansion. It was too creepy for anyone to buy and too far away from civilization for fun Halloween visits. Hardly anyone knew of its existence at all, leaving the muddy road leading to the mansion in disrepair. This once well-used street has become subject to roots weaving their way through the pavement and low-hanging branches blocking the path for any vehicle.

Following the road down the mountain for a little while stood a house that seemed to be the exact opposite: It was modern and lively, often visited and looked after by a loving family. These vacationers came on weekends and holidays to invite family and friends, explore the surrounding nature, or simply enjoy the peace of the woods. However, they decidedly stayed away from the eerie mansion.

Yet, in the middle of the night, their son couldn't resist his curiosity and snuck over to see it. He quickly came running back with tears running down his cheeks, claiming he saw a ghost on top of the roof of the mansion. It took a long time to overcome his fear, but eventually his memory and certainty of the event faded. Years later, though they all avoided the mansion now, they still liked to joke about it and make up horror stories. This greatly amused the ghost living in their own home, for, ironically, both houses were actually haunted.

It was a moonless night when the blue ghost sat in their usual spot on the roof of the mansion. It was the only place which allowed you to comfortably lie down and not have trees blocking your view of the sky. At this time of night, the forest was too dark to be seen, and its rustling leaves could only be heard, but the sky shone brilliantly with millions of stars. The blue ghost gazed up at them for a long time, following the slow wandering of the constellations, counting satellites, and, whenever seeing a shooting star, wishing for another one.

Sighing, the ghost got up and floated down one of the many chimneys covering the vast roof into the main living room of the mansion. Its walls were covered in portraits of long-gone people, but this time they were different. The paintings were still there, but the people seemed to have vanished, as if they violently ripped their cages open, escaped the frames and were now free inside the mansion. Sure enough, the blue ghost met plenty of them in different rooms of the mansion, trying to be scary and surprise the ghost. It was delightfully spooky, and the blue ghost later complimented their neighbor, the green ghost, for their work.

"Did I manage to scare you this time?", asked Green. Blue confirmed, rewarding the other.

They talked, laughed, and looked at the portraits, which were now back to normal. Blue did not know most of these people, but shared with Green the little knowledge they had. One of these paintings showed Blue back when they were twelve years old, alive and well. Their grandpa had been an artist and had insisted on painting them. Blue looked at their old self and suddenly felt their happiness fading away.

"You haven't changed a bit. You're taller and older, but that's it", said Green, which made Blue smile again.