Hayden

White, part 1.

I got to the graveyard and immediately felt sick. I believed in ghosts, but I wasn't good with the whole death thing. Looking at all the headstones behind this gate just gave me this weird feeling. I looked around to see if there was anybody around. The gate was locked so I figured nobody was there. The rest of the note told me to look for someone named Solomon. I figured that was the gate keeper. Hopefully he was still around here taking care of the dead people and everything.

The gate wasn't that high. If I ran and jumped, I knew I could get over the gate easily. I gave myself some distance from the gate and started to run towards it before a voice stopped me.

"Lady, what the hell are you doing?" I heard behind me.

Praying it wasn't a damn ghost, I turned around to see an old white man. He looked to be in his sixties or seventies. He had crystal blue eyes, a long grey beard, and grey hair. He was taller than me but who wasn't?

I bent down to touch my toes. "I was just stretching."

"Stretching? It seemed to me that you were attempting to hop that gate," he said as he placed his hand on his chin.

I gave him a look and waved my hand. "Who me? Never. I was just running from my car to the gate and back. You know.. exercising and stuff," I said with a smile on my face. Way to play it cool Hayden.

"Sure you were. Listen, I suggest you leave before I call the police. I am the gate keeper and I don't want any trouble. A pretty girl like you shouldn't be here at night alone. One of the spirits might try to haunt you," he told me in a whisper.

I cringed at his words. I'm sure the little white man said that to scare me but in all honesty, that was one thing I was not trying to think about. But, with that little speech, I now knew who he was.

"Solomon?" I said as I looked him in the eye.

"Yes, and who are you supposed to be? Are you Edith's daughter? Because if you are, I don't know what she's telling you but me and her slept together thirty years ago and-"

I scrunched up my eyebrows before stopping him. "What? No. I don't know who Edith is. I'm Hayden Whitaker and I'm-" I said before he cut me off.

"So you're not my daughter?" He asked me.

I shook my head. "No sir, I am not."

"Well Ms. Whitaker... to what do I owe the honor of such a pretty young thing visiting me? Are you a prostitute? A junkie looking for a fix? Or are you a drunk?"

I folded my arms across my chest. "Listen here you old ass son of a bitch, do I look like a prostitute to you?" I looked at him and he looked like he was about to open his mouth but I gave that man a look that let him know I would beat his old ass if he answered. Like, come on now. I was in jeans not a sequins mini skirt and tube top.

"I'm here because Alana Martinez told me to find you. She left me something before she passed away. Now, go in the graveyard and bring me whatever she left me," I said. I was not in the mood to play games. I wasn't in the mood to play with this man either. I was ready to snatch him up by that beard he had.

"Oh gosh! Did she die?" He asked with wide eyes.

I nodded my head and then averted my eyes.

Solomon shook his head. I wondered what kind of connection they had and how they knew each other.

"I used to date her mother before she married her dad. When her mother died, Alana used to come visit me and we would sit down and talk. I would like to say that she felt closer to me than her own father. I didn't even know she passed," Solomon said as he reached into his back pocket. I followed his hands before looking up at him.