It Happens When Nobody is Watching - Jennifer Baljko

It happens when nobody is watching. That’s the only time Evan can talk to his grandma. She doesn’t talk to him when anyone else is around. She thinks everyone else will think Evan is crazy if they see him talking to the wall. That’s what she told him once. See, Grandma Janice is dead, but every now and again she whispers in his ear. It first started a couple years ago, a few days before Christmas when Evan was playing in the backyard, trying to make a snowman from the first flakes of the season. Grandma Janice loved the first snow, how the trees looked like a lady’s long fingers dipped in marshmallow fluff. Christmas had been her favorite time of year. She decorated the house with a million lights, and ceramic snowmen found a niche in almost every corner of the house. Grandma was too old to believe in Santa Claus. But she never could tire of the magic that seemed to dance around the streets that time of year. She told Evan to look under the tree on Christmas morning. There would be something special waiting for him.