Haunting Winds

Chapter 5

They all gathered in the middle of the stage again where Allan stood still. "Geez, Allan. Relax. Nothing happened," Ian told him.

"Maybe it's time we went back downstairs. We've had enough stories for one night," David told them.

"Oh come on, guys. It's still way too early to go back down. Let's just stay a couple more minutes to wait for the singing girl. What do you say, Allan? Just relax. They're not killer ghosts," Robert said.

"Okay. Here's what we can do," Ian suggested. "We can wait a few more minutes here for the singing girl, but how about we don't talk about any more scary stuff?"

"Okay. I can get behind that," David answered.

"Fine. Let's wait over there," Robert said pointing to where they sat earlier.

"Should we turn the lights backstage off first?" asked Ian.

"No. We'll need it on if we chase after the girl when she runs away," David answered.

They gathered in the middle of the auditorium once more and talked about subjects more lighthearted than earlier to help Allan forget his fears. They talked about school matters and how they were faring. Out of them all, Ian has been doing most well. His parents were very strict, yet supportive on his studies. They insist on him having the best grades to follow on either of their footsteps, one a lawyer, the other a doctor. They even kept sending him to camps and seminars about leadership and other things.

Robert reflected that at least Ian's parents were supportive, his were only strict and demeaned him every chance they could get. He lamented that every error he made were brought up all the time, while his successes were hardly praised or noticed. Ian went on to admit that he doesn't know much about what his parents do. While he knows his mother saves people's lives, he thought his father's job was to talk to people so that they give him money. He had always wanted to ask him more about his job, but neither could spend much time with him, leaving him feeling lonely most of the time.

David wondered how two mostly absent parents could keep their son studious and Ian told them his parents hired a private tutor who also serves as his nanny. Ian spoke more fondly of his uncle who tried teaching him how to play drums, but his mother forbade him to do so calling it a waste of time, time he could spend reading about medical articles in what Ian called "old people magazines". Ian enjoyed playing the drums and wishes his uncle could teach him again, but his uncle told him he should listen to his mother instead.

Allan spent most of the time sitting silently listening to his friends trying to distract himself from his imaginations of the girl's laughter he had heard earlier. While he forgot about it later on, he couldn't help feel a heavy chill run down his back every now and then. He kept looking over his shoulder to see if anyone was there. He moved away from the stage to face it afraid that a ghost would catch him by surprise. It was at this that Ian asked Robert where he got his stories. Robert only answered that a crypt keeper never tells his secrets.

"I thought those were magicians. And what's a crypt keeper?" Asked Ian.

"You've never heard of a crypt keeper before?"Robert said. Everyone shook their heads. Robert only laughed and refused to tell them anything. In truth, he did not know what a crypt keeper was as well. He only heard it from his cousin's tales about books and a TV show. "Why are you so scared? Have you ever seen a ghost?" He asked Allan to deflect the question.

"No," Allan answered. He paused looking at the floor for a while. "But I have seen something, but I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh, come on. Tell us," Robert said, but Allan refused to say more.