Ghosts - Millard Nullings

1956

Minutes had passed as I watched the young ones play in the snow as they did everyday. Was it odd that it was snowing in July, yes, but it was a very odd day, Friday 13, a cursed date, well that's what a majority of the world thought at least. Obviously this was just a superstition that someone made to describe a peculiar day, that coincidentally happened rarely.

Recollecting myself I realized that I had been staring in to space. If I wanted to finish my book before supper I had to start it now. I slowly open the fraying book and started to read the first page, taking in the nostalgia I had from reading this book so many times before, with open arms. This book was indescribingly comforting, considering the life that I was living.

As I read the pages I felt more at home than I have ever felt in this home. Sure, the house was beautiful and large, but the people were like starved wolves; making everyone's lives miserable as they strive to be better than the others. Thinking about it, the children in this house and I aren't really that different after all. Both striving to be the best at whatever subject they want, doing almost anything to get there. But I wasn't like them, was I? I never tried to put people underneath me in anything, they were always better, so they were placed above. I never meant to make people feel bad about themselves. I tried to make them feel happy, but look where that's landed me.

Noticing that the cheerful laughs and the undistinguishable happy voices of the children outside stopped, I glance outside through the slightly frosted window that was on my right side. It was dark, for some odd reason the happy snow that flurried everyday ceased and it was almost as dark as it was when it was night. Out of the corner of my eye I see a small pointed looking footsteps being planted in the snow, coming straight towards the house. A hollowgast. Where were the children? Where they already dead? Closing my book and running to my room with it gripped tightly between my fingers. I make sure to keep an eye out for the children who were all outside.

I open my door and close it silently behind me. My eyes scanning over the room that I had know for longer than I can remember, the room that I was about to leave for good. A crash sounds from the ground floor, warning me that the hollow had entered the house. I quickly grab my worn satchel from my maple desk chair, and head to my wardrobe. I open the door and haphazardly grab 2 dresses. A pale pink coloured one with ditsy white and darker pink flowers on it, and a simple light green one with a white lace trim on the bottom, the end of the sleeves, and the collar. Both dresses landed right above my knees when worn. I grabbed a black blouse and a pair of corduroy trousers and threw them in my bag along with the two dresses. I grab Romeo and Juliet from where I placed it on my bed, and put it in there too. Thumps can be heard from the monster making it's way upstairs and I new I didn't have much time left, I threw on some runners and threw my satchel over my shoulder. I threw open the one window that was in my room, and stepped over the windowsill. I turned to close my window just as the horrid beast tore through my closed door. I silently gasped and cover my hand over my mouth, quickly backing up to the outside wall that was next to the window. I made myself entirely silent with my peculiarity and slowly retracted the colour from my body until my satchel and I were entirely invisible.

Moments later the window flew open and I decided to run. Fumbling over the roof tiling silently. The cold air stinging my face as I move as fast as I can without falling off of the roof. Looking around for my escape I see the small pond that we had. Sure it was frozen over, but it was my best bet at this moment. I take a deep breath. It's this or I'm dead. I might be dead either way, but I'd rather die at my own hand than at another's. My focus was no longer on my peculiarity, leaving me fully vulnerable. I looked down into the frozen pond below, and then to my left where the tiles from the roof were miraculously flying off. I look back down to the pond, tighten my grub on my satchel, and jump.