Written by Once upon a time there was a young boy named Garrison who lived in a very small house near the edge of the woods. His family had moved to this house recently when his dad got a new job far from the city. This wasn’t a place that Garrison wanted to live, and he just felt lonely and sad. He’d go to school and sit in the back of the classroom barely talking to anyone and rush home as soon as class was finished. Then he’d run off to his bedroom and just stare outside the window at the cluster of trees in the distance. His mind was filled with dark thoughts and he wondered if anyone would even care if he just walked into that forest and never returned. On this particular night, he was again sitting at the window when his mother knocked on his door. When he didn’t answer, she opened it and smiled at him. He just turned away and looked back out the window. She walked in and sat on his bed and asked, “have you met any new friends at school?” He simply shook his head without looking back at her. “I know it’s tough, but you’re going to be just fine,” she said, stood up, and slowly walked out of the room. He waited only a few moments before heading downstairs and, carefully opening the front door, he walked outside. In a sudden burst, he began running toward the trees. Had he still been in his bedroom he would have seen a young boy rushing into the dark forest, and slowly disappear.
He just kept running and running until something caught his eye. There was a white glow near a large tree that caused him to stop in his tracks. What he saw was a little ghost hovering next to a tree wearing orange sneakers. Though certain he should be terrified by seeing such a sight, the only thought that popped into his mind made him exclaim , “Oh wow! Cool shoes!” “Thanks!” uttered the ghost in response causing Garrison to jump behind a tree and say, “I didn’t know you could talk.”
This caused the ghost to begin making frightfully spooky sounds that caused the hairs on Garrison’s neck to stand on end. Peering out from behind the tree, he could see the ghost floating toward him and he closed his eyes hoping it was all a dream. When he finally got the nerve to open them again, he was terrified to find the head of the ghost peering around the tree. “Boo!” said the ghost, causing Garrison to jump and just as he was about to gather the nerve to run away the ghost said in a much friendlier voice, “Relax! I’m just joshing with you!” Confused and still uncertain, Garrison asked, “Are you… friendly?” The ghost disappeared for a moment and then suddenly popped its head back around the tree causing Garrison to jump once more and whispered,”are you?”
Thinking for a moment, he then stood up, brushed himself off and said, “my name is, Garrison. It’s nice to meet you.” The ghost was still peering around the tree and didn’t move, but said, “That’s an interesting name. I have an uncle named Gary. Do you ever go by that name?” Garrison shook his head no, and asked, “is he uhm… dead?” This made the ghost giggle and say, “what a strange thing to ask. You really need to work on your conversation skills. My name is Benjamin, not Ben, and it’s nice to meet you as well.” The ghost disappeared back behind the tree and started moving in the other direction. Garrison followed it only to notice it was no longer floating. For the first time that night, the moon had moved from behind the clouds and he could see more clearly. The ghost suddenly turned around and saw the look of shock on his face. “Wait,” said Benjamin, “you didn’t really think I was …?” Garrison shook his head vigorously and interrupted saying, “Of course not!” This made Benjamin giggle again and say, “Sorry for scaring you, earlier. I always wondered what being a ghost might be like, but it’s not as fun as I thought, so maybe I’ll go as something else for Halloween this year. You can come along if you like. What are you going to be?” Garrison smiled for the first time in weeks and quietly said, “I’m going to be just fine.”
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About the DoodlewashDa Vinci Paint Co.: Benzimida Orange and Ultramarine (Green Shade). Lamy Al-Star Safari Fountain Pen (Broad Nib) with black ink in an A5 Hahnemühle Watercolour Book. Want to purchase a print of this doodlewash? Send me a note with a link to this post, and I’ll add it to my shop! |
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I love love love this and the story is the Aweeeeeeeesome!!! 😀
Thanks, Lisa! 😃💕 Thrilled you enjoyed this! It’s always fun with a story pops out! hehe
Charles what a great sketch and story! A book of shorts? Just a thought!
Thanks so much, Karen! 😃💕 Yeah, a book of shorts would be fun to create some day!
You squirkled! And even better you wrote a story for your squirkling! Both were so excellent! They had texture and great composition and were extremely satifsfying!
Thanks so much, Sandra! 😃💕 Did you know that I didn’t even know that term. I only knew it as scumbling or scribbling. lol But squirkle is so much better so I’ll use that from now on. Not sure where else to employ it as it seems uniquely fitting for Halloween! 😉
It’s a great way to blend color if you are using pen or markers. You just squirkle the different colors and let them intermingle. I use it a lot when I’m using pens.
I’ll have to try a color squirkle one day! hehe Sounds fun! (just need to add a pen set to my Christmas list for Philippe… hehe)
Fantastic story with lots of suspense! I loved the sweet characters and ending. Great sketch, too.
Thanks so much, Sharon! 😃💕 Thrilled you enjoyed the story! It was fun to make this one!
Charlie, this is simply wonderful!😍❤❣👻
Thanks so much, Mariam! 😃💕 So happy you enjoyed this!!
Awesome story, Charlie!! 👻✨🎃 Love the ghost wearing orange sneakers…hehe! 😉
Thanks so much, Jill! 😃💕 hehe… I thought you might like that. Seems like something you’d come up with as well! 😉
What a great story Charlie! (K)
Thanks so much, Kerfe! 😃💕 Glad you enjoyed this. It’s always nice when the muse makes a story come out.
It is!
Orange sneakers! Maybe a Halloween series? That would appeal to a wide audience.
hehe! Yeah, this started with just a notion of a ghost in orange sneakers! lol I had no idea a story would come out. I think a Halloween series would be fun! 😃💕
Great story and picture Charlie.
Thanks so much, Gary! 😃💕
I love your sketch!!! And I love this cute little story.. Yep, you need to do children’s books. 🙂
Thanks so much, Lori! 😃💕 I’d love to do a children’s book some day.
What an entertaining sketch and story! We can all identify with Harrison—we all need a connection with others. I thoroughly enjoyed how you illustrated that with your art and words. Thank you!
Thanks, Laura! 😃💕 What a lovely compliment. It was a bit spontaneous like everything I DO. hehe, So happy you enjoyed it!
Wonderful story and sketch and absolutely LOVE the orange sneakers!!! 😍👍👻
Thanks so much, Mary! 😃💕 Yay! The orange sneakers were the only idea I had when I started… hehe… I just thought a ghost in orange sneakers made for a cool character.
Fantastc story and awesome doodle you came up with!
Thanks so much, Fatima! 😃💕 So happy you liked my little ghost and ghost story!
That was just a lovely story and it brought a big smile to my face.
Aww thanks!! Your comment brought a big smile to my face! That makes me happy to hear. Thanks, Sandra! 😃💕
So much fun!! Thanks, Charlie!
Thanks so much, Ellie! 😃💕 Glad you enjoyed this one!
Fabulous night depicting with moon light, Charlie. Love your story a lot. I really followed in footsteps of Garrison. I have seen your beautiful sketches, but I’ve always read the whole story before commenting. I’ve walked in the past to enjoying your stories hehe.
Thanks, Loan! 😃💕 I’m so happy you enjoy my stories. That makes me very happy to hear!
Great story I don’t always have time to read the full story and often just the Instagram paragraph but this was one I had to read in full. Loved it & loved the sketch
Aww thanks so much, Claire! 😃💕Yeah, I try to put good bits in that first paragraph in Instagram! But this ended up a whole story! So happy you read and enjoyed it! That makes me so happy to hear!
You are a born story weaver. You spun that tale with a naturalness that made me feel entirely comfortable being immersed in it. It’s as if it is an extension of yourself and not made up at all. I believed every word. Absolutely grand and both the painting and the pen and ink create an undeniable atmosphere. Super all the way around.
Thank you SO much, Sarah! 😃💕 Thrilled you enjoyed this one. It was written in the same automatic way as my usual posts, so I hoped it made for a good story. No rewrites or fussing with text… hehe. 😊