I started writing this post as a blow by blow account of the evening. After reading the first few paragraphs over a few times, I realized the direction of the post had taken a wrong turn. Was the evening great? You betcha. And yet there is always another story to tell when recounting an evenings events. A story that involves not only the physical aspects, but also the emotional ones as well. Add some supernatural phenomena and you have all the makings of a classic.

Our story begins at 6pm exactly. The rain, which had been expected, had bypassed the valley, leaving scattered and lonely clouds to show the storms passing. The air very frosty, so I practiced saying “I see dead people” over and over because it was so cool! The plan was to walk the northridge mall and people watch as they were buying last minute gifts. Alas, this was not to be. The mall had closed for xmas eve at 6pm sharp. It was then we encountered the first supernatural event of the evening. The ghost of disappointment present. (cue eerie chains rattling and spooky sounds)

“You cannot roam the pathways of the mall this eve. Closed we be while others grieve.” the ghost of disappointment present said eerily.

“OK, ” we replied. “Do you have any other suggestions Mr. ghost of disappointment present?

“Thank you for asking! I was a tour guide before passing into the spirit world. It feels good to share some ideas every now and then. How about going to Target or Walmart? There should be quite a few last minute shoppers there” The GDP said.

This time, however, we were not going to be denied! We consulted with the ghost of disappointment future “google” before heading to either one.

Target was open, google said! Yay! Happily, we headed over the hill to the closest Target. Arriving, we noticed throngs of people bustling about, purchasing last minute gifts before heading off somewhere, somewhere important they had to be. But something was amiss. Where was the ghost of disappointment past? Don’t these things always happen in threes?

Stay tuned for part two, too tired for now to continue…