When I was small, I was afraid of darkness. I was afraid of being alone in the dark and discovered by ghosts.
Especially since my family moved to a larger house in the suburb, there was more darkness to deal with after the sunset. My room was located upstairs, and whenever I needed to go to my room alone, I would turn on all the lights in the corridor and sing a song in a loud voice as I walked up the staircase. Once I was in my room, I would turn on the light, shut the curtain and close the door to remove any darkness from my sight.
In the night, when my father finished the bedside story and left the room to go back downstairs, I would always ask him to please keep the door open and the lights on in the corridor because I didn’t like to be left in the dark. He always fulfilled my request.
One day, my father asked me why I was afraid of darkness. I answered, “because I’m scared of ghosts.” He laughed and said that there was no need for me to worry because if they did come, he would fight them off.
“Can you really fight them off?”
I asked my father anxiously.
“Of course! I will fight them off like this.”
And he mimicked the gesture of punching and kicking in the air. I laughed. Maybe he was strong enough to fight off ghosts. I felt a little relieved. Seeing that I was fine, he left the room.
“Good night.”
As I heard his footstep go down the stairs and the door to the living room close, I reflected upon what my father had just told me. So, if a ghost really appears, all I need to do is to call my father. Then, I opened my eyes again. But didn’t he just close the door downstairs? Would he hear me if I ever called him for emergency?
There was no end to the little girl’s worries. In the end, I decided that if a ghost ever came, I would fight it off myself. And finally, I was able to fall asleep.