Nothing’s Real

I was joined in my morning walk by the ghost of Mata Hari. She was executed for being a double agent during the First World War.

I said, “What was it like being a spy?”

Mata Hari said, “I wasn’t one. I alluded to being a spy to attract attention and audiences to my exotic dance shows.”

I said, “That’s terrible that you had to die for your work.”

Mata Hari, “Yes, but I would have died eventually.”

I said, “I think I get caught up in other people’s stories.”

Mata Hari said, “Then you are a lover of fiction. Most of what we hear about other’s lives is fabricated.”

I said, “When I was in first grade, there was a rumor that I ate bugs. I never ate them. But I did nothing to discredit these stories. It made me popular. People called my Bugsy. My false life allowed me to kiss Leah Stubbers. The funny thing is she actually ate potato bugs.”