Rose Moon, at age 9, had discovered the magic of the Walkman. A Walkman, for those who don't know, is a device that was popular in the 80s and 90s. It is a music player and recorder. Rose had been in the attic because she had been bored, and had discovered a box of her father's. It contained a Walkman and a whole bunch of cassette tapes. Rose only took the Walkman, the headphones connected to it, and the empty cassette tape. She had stayed up talking into the Walkman and playing it back at herself, giggling at how she sounded. She hid the Walkman under her pillow when she went to sleep.

Rose woke up later than everyone else in her house had. She got up and stomped down the stairs, arriving in the kitchen. She made herself some breakfast, but only once she finished eating did she notice the silence. Rose paused. "Hello?" Rose decided her mother must have been at work and her siblings were in their rooms, doing their own thing. "Hello? Anyone there?" she asked the empty air. There was no response, and she felt a pang of loneliness. She had to find a way to convince some of them to come out, right? "I'm... going on an adventure! If you wanna come, then... come downstairs!" she shouted. "Hello?" she said, a little quieter. She was all alone.

But it was fine. Rose was going on an adventure, and it was their loss if they missed out. Rose went back up the stairs and to her room. She spied the Walkman, under her pillow. Every adventure needed a captain's log, right? Rose picked up the Walkman and sat on her bed. Rose stood up. She cleared her throat and pressed the record button.

"Captain's log, entry one. Nobody is responding to me, so I am going on an adventure. Where? I don't know. When will I be back? I don't know. It's that kind of adventure that is important to go on, but more for the journey than the destination." Rose nodded to herself, beginning to pace, just like a captain would. "I am the captain of this journey. I don't have a crew. I don't have anybody right now." She paused, and then quickly added, "But that's okay! Cause I'm the captain and I don't need anybody. Anyway. I will check back in later, as my adventure... progresses. See ya!" She told the Walkman. She quickly got dressed and pulled her shoes on, and then bounced out of her room.

At the bottom of the stairs, she called up again, "I'm leaving!" No response. Again. Rose shoved it out of her mind and exited the door, leaving the house. She started the recording on her Walkman again. "Captain's log, entry two," she stated. "I have left the house and I am on my way to... to... the ice cream shop. Milk Train Cafe. They have really good ice cream. I don't have any money, but do you think they'll give me some ice cream anyway? If I say I'm really hungry? Maybe. I still don't have a crew, though I doubt I will. I guess this is an independent adventure. Anyway. I'll see you later."

Rose paused. Milk Train Cafe, the ice cream shop, was way too far to walk. "Captain's log, entry three. I did not consider how far Milk Train Cafe was. I am not going there anymore. I am walking to the park. You know, I might just find a crew there! Over and out." She stopped the Walkman's recording and headed to the park. Rose arrived at the park soon and found a place under a tree where she could rest in the summer shade.

"Captain's log, entry four. I am now in the park, under a tree. It's a pretty tree, and it's super big, too. Maybe I'll climb the tree! That would be an adventurous thing to do. Over and out. See you when I'm finished climbing the tree."

Rose found a low branch and hoisted herself up and onto it, holding the Walkman to her chest. It was precious and she wanted to protect it. She climbed onto the lowest branch and then spied a good sitting spot, climbing up to that position. She situated, cleared her throat, and pressed the record button again.

"Captain's log, entry five. I am in the tree. I can see so much of the park from here. I feel like a cat." Rose looked down at the ground. "Oh... now I really feel like a cat. I'm super high up. I don't know how I'm gonna get back down." There was a sway of the tree in the background, the leaves rustling against each other. Rose smiled a little, softly, closing her eyes and soaking in the dappled sun on her face. She opened her eyes again and spied a group of girls on the grass. They looked strangely familiar. There were five of them. "Hey... I think those are my friends from school," she said, her voice bright. "I'm gonna go see if I can talk to them." Rose clambered down the tree, and once she landed on the ground, she brushed herself off and realized something. "Hey. If they were getting together today, why didn't they invite me?" she asked the Walkman. "I'll be right back. Over and out."

Rose bounded over to her friends. As she approached them, she did not notice their glances of disdain.

"Hey guys!" she exclaimed, cheerfully.

The ringleader, Sophie, leaned towards her other friends. "Do you guys hear something?" she asked.

They all looked around and shook their heads. Rose's heart sank- each of them looked right through her.

Eve, the quietest of the group, murmured, "Hey, why didn't we invite Rose?"

Sophie scoffed. "Because we didn't want her here, obvi!"

Rose winced. "None of you can hear me?" she asked them. "I'm here! I-I'm right here!" she exclaimed, trying to get their attention.

"Come on, guys. Let's go to the swings," Sophie said, beckoning her friends. They all walked off towards the playground.

At this moment, most people would be able to see that Rose's friends were ignoring her. But Rose, being nine and not always the brightest in her younger age, came to a different conclusion. She gasped, fumbling for her walkman. She realized it had been recording the entire time, and started another entry.

"Hey! Uhm, Captain's log, entry... six. I think. I have just made a very important discovery." Her voice started to shake as she went on. She whispered, "I think that I don't exist right now. My friends couldn't hear me at all! And I just know they wouldn't ignore me... right?"

Her heart sank down into her stomach. "Right?" she asked herself, barely audible. Then, she yelled into the park, "CAN ANYBODY HEAR ME?" There was no response, and Rose didn't notice the skeptical glances from those around her. Her lip trembled. "Anyone at all?"

No response.

"Well," she said, addressing her Walkman once again. "Well, I suppose I'm not getting a crew, after all. Since... I don't exist. Nobody can hear me. Nobody can see me. I'm not even here. I wonder if you can still hear me, Mr. Walkman."

Rose felt suddenly very lonely and drew her arms around herself. "I... I just wanna go home. I'm going home now. Uhm, over and out."

Rose sniffed, marching towards her house. She kept her chin high, pretending that she wasn't lonely. Not that she had anybody that she wanted to put the show on for. She just wanted to convince herself she wasn't lonely.

After a few minutes, she hit record on the Walkman again. "Captain's log, entry... seven. It's kind of sad that I don't exist. It sucks." She winced, knowing her mother didn't like her saying that word. "Sorry, Mom," she whispered. "I wonder... if I'm a ghost. Maybe I died, and don't remember it. I wonder if I was dead if I could see my Daddy." She sniffed. "I wish he were here. Maybe he could have the solution to all this. Maybe he can tell me how to exist again."

She was silent for a few moments.

"My friends said... My friends said they didn't invite me because they didn't want me there. Do you think that was true?" She watched her shoes as she walked. "Does anybody want me around? Am I just annoying them all the time?" she asked herself, feeling strangely cold, though it was summertime. The girl sniffed again, clenching her hands into fists. "I am not going to cry," she told herself, lifting her chin. "I am not- I am not going to cry.... I miss existing. Or maybe... maybe it would be better for everyone if I just kept on not existing. Since nobody wants me around anyway."

"I'm fine. I'm fine."

But something inside Rose broke at that moment, knowing that she wasn't fine.

(Woop woop! 1000th post!)