~ Little things....Big smiles.: March 2010

This is the story Kassandra wrote for Language Arts....

The Unimaginable
By: Kassandra Vaughn

Every little girl believes in something, right? Whether it’s the tooth fairy, or the Easter Bunny, Cupid or Santa Claus. I mean, what’s so strange about a big guy in a red suit? I don’t believe in any of those people. All I believe in is seeing the dead. I can hear them whispering softly in my ear. I can feel them lightly brush against my smooth, round face. To me, it’s like they want something. Help? A friend? I don’t know, but that’s what I want to figure out.
My name’s Lorrainne, in case you were wondering. Ever since I was three years old, I’ve been seeing transparent figures that have much light. I thought I was different from everyone else, and it lowered my self-esteem quite a bit, but when I turned six, I then understood what they actually were. I’m eight years, two months, and fourteen days old to this very day. My mission is to find out what they want, or what they need. I consider myself almost like one of those spies. You know, the ones you see in movies. They’re always on a mission to accomplish something and what not. That’s what I want to do. Accomplish something. I want to make myself stand out.
***
On the way to school this morning, I was taking my sweet old time trying to get there. The big, bright, yellow ball in the sky was beating down on my face and my neck was sweating as my long, brown, wavy hair covered it. Although, there was a nice breeze. I really hate school. Nobody really is, or wants to be my friend, except Rebekka. It makes me feel a little insecure about myself, but I guess I can live with it. Rebekka’s the one and only best friend incorporated in my life. She’s the only one who knows that I can talk to ghosts from the past. She thinks it’s really awesome and she’s a great friend. Even though she can be a blonde most of the time, it’s nice to have her around.
To start the school day off every morning, I always give my teacher, Ms. Darby, a nice, juicy red apple. She really appreciates it, and I’m glad for that. After she takes it out of my soft, delicate hands, she takes one big bite and saves the rest for after lunch. Speaking of lunch, have I mentioned the nasty food? Oh wait, scratch that. Everything on the menu is horrible. The salad’s not crunchy, the burgers aren’t cooked all the way, the taco meat is burnt to a crisp, the milk is warm and chunky, and the lunch trays they give are used over and over again. That’s rather disgusting, wouldn’t you agree? This is why I happen to pack my lunch every day.
As soon as I got to lunch, I had a real bad headache. I could hear everyone’s voices, or so I thought. It wasn’t the school kids voices. They were the ghost’s voices. A chill ran up my spine, and I shivered. I heard one voice in particular. It was very gentle. A very calm, soothing voice, I heard it say this, “My name’s MaryJane. I need your help. A few years ago, I was murdered by a woman named Sheryl Darby. She still works here, I believe.” At that moment, my heart stopped. She went on, “I want you to find her. Turn her in somehow. She told me that if I told anyone, she’d kill the person I told, too. I’m so glad I found you. I’ve heard everything about you, and I’ve been searching all over for you. Will you please help me?”
“Yes, of course I will. Yes.” I couldn’t help but think to myself, Ms. Darby? Could it really be her? She’s a murderer? She’d such a nice lady, though. I just don’t understand. MaryJane said her goodbyes with a “thank you,” and went on her way. All of the sprits voices left with her, and my headache instantly vanished.
***
Three-thirty arrived, and the bell let off a demolishing tone to my eardrum. It does this everyday though, so don’t worry.
I was so scared of what MaryJane had told me. I was so afraid, that I didn’t even talk to Ms. Darby the rest of the day. She frightens me, now. I’m also afraid to turn her in. I promised MaryJane I would, but I just don’t know anymore. I got home, plopped onto bed, and called Rebekka. It’s what I always do. Rebekka gives me very good advice; whenever I need somebody to talk to, I just go to her about it. After some time passed, Rebekka had to go, and so I had to hang up the phone. Her last thought kept dangling there in my mind, “Listen to MaryJane, Lorrainne. That’s what you do in every situation, and you never regret it. The ghosts never lie to you…” Rebekka was right, like always.
I thought, thought, and thought about it some more. I finally decided to tell my mom about it. About everything. This is a very serious situation, and I need a grown-ups help. She’d probably think I’m crazy, but hey. It’s worth a try, so that’s exactly what I was planning on doing. I snuck down the creaky stairway into the living room, where my mom was reading her newest book, “Away in the Gardens.”
“Mom, I have to tell you something.”
“Oh! You startled me, sweetie. What is it, dear?” My throat tightened up, and I could barely swallow. The expression on my face was brutal.
“Well, you see. I… I… have this… special power. I never told you before, because I thought you’d think I was weird. Scary. Something alone those lines. I don’t know how to say this, so I’m just going to come out of my nutshell and say it. I can see dead people.” My mom’s eyes widened and she began to cry. She tightly squeezed her arms around me and let go after a minute or so. I thought I’d keep going, “I hear them too, mom. They want my help. I’m the only one that can help them.”
“I know, honey. I know,” mother sobbed.
“Wait. How do you know? You can see them, too?” I said surprised.
“No, no. I have to tell you something, too. I don’t want to scare you, so I’ll tell it in the easiest way possible.”
“Alright,” I replied, “go ahead. I’m ready.” My mom started with a big sigh, then began letting words come out of her mouth.
“When you were two years old, you drowned, in a pond. Nobody was around to capture you from under the water. You died.” There was an awkward silence. A long pause between a space in time. I finally said something.
“I remember, mom. I remember.” I suddenly had a flashback of that day. My mom, dad, my dog, and I were at the park downtown. It was a nice, sunny day and everybody was at the playground, but I was the only little kid by the pond. I decided to look at the fish squirming around under the water. I leaned over too far, lost my balance, and fell in. Something weird happened just then. As I was trying to work my way back up to the surface, I caught a glimpse of myself struggling to catch my breath. It was like, I saw myself. I believe I was a ghost. It only lasted a few seconds, but I didn’t understand why this happened. Maybe this is why I’m able to see the dead now; because I once was dead.
“Mom, did you know about this? Did you know that I could see sprits?”
“I was just assuming you did. I mean, when you were a child, right after the incident happened, you kept looking all around. You talked to yourself and others. You’d even get headaches a lot because of all the ghost’s voices around you. I thought it was impossible at first, but once this became a daily routine, I believed it.” My mother seemed nervous telling me all of this, but I just went along with it.
***
That night upstairs, I was calmly resting my head on my pillow. I couldn’t stop thinking of what to do. I wasn’t able to fall asleep and so I started counting sheep. I imagined that I’d see little lambs. Instead, I saw ghosts. I got scared and stopped. Tomorrow, I’ll tell MaryJane that I don’t want to help, anymore.
The next day came faster than I thought it would. I was afraid of what’d happen if I told MaryJane I didn’t want to be involved with this. The school day was all right. Normal, I suppose. Ms. Darby didn’t seem any different. Although, she was a little disappointed that I hadn’t brought her an apple, today. I guess that’s what you get when you keep secrets. Lunch rolled around the corner, and my stomach was growling at me. I patted it and told her everything would be okay. I knew my tummy couldn’t talk, or hear me, but I like to entertain myself that way. I sat down at my lunch table, with Rebekka, opened my packed lunch, and smelled the very strong scent that filled my nose. My mom put a piece of apple pie in my lunch. Apple pie was my favorite. It was still warm and the apples were gushy, but a little crunchy. That’s exactly how I liked it. My mouth was watering just from the aroma. I went to take a nibble out of it, just when MaryJane decided to visit me.
“Hello, Lorrainne.” MaryJane murmured.
“Hey, Jane. How are you doing?” I answered back, annoyed.
“Not so good. Have you found out where Sheryl is located at?” I was scared to tell her the truth.
“Um. N… no. I haven’t. It seems to be that I haven’t found anything of her. Is it a possibility that she already got turned in?”
“I don’t think so.” I started getting nervous. I didn’t know what to say next.
“MaryJane… I’m going to tell you the truth. I decided that I don’t want to help anymore. This situation scares me a lot, and I have no idea what to do. I’m sorry, but you’re on your own…” My heart was beating as fast as a cheetah could run. I thought she’d yell at me, or hurt me. I didn’t know what to expect. She hadn’t answered for a while now, and I was starting to worry.
“It’s okay. I understand…” MaryJane suddenly added. “I know it’s probably hard for you. Whenever you’re ready to help me, just call my name. I’ll be here.” She seemed to understand quite well. I was very relieved. Now that that’s over, I can focus on finding more friends. I think that’s what’s holding me back a little. I’m a very nice girl, and I believe that if I told everyone what I could do, then they’d appreciate me more.
Lunch just finished, and it was math time, now. I tried to get to class early so I could tell Ms. Darby I had something to announce to the whole class, including her. She agreed to that, and when the bell rung to start class, I began to speak.
“Class, as you all may know, I don’t have very many friends. It bothers me to no end, and I’m tired of it. You guys think I’m weird because I talk to myself, and interact with myself, right?” The class was silently shocked in what I had been saying. Some shook their heads, others just stayed put where they were. Since nobody was saying anything, I decided to fill in the space.
“I’m not talking to myself. I’m not playing by myself. It’s the ghosts.” Rebekka looked at me in despair, brown eyes widening. Many kids giggled; but I wasn’t offended for once. I needed to tell everybody what was going on.
“I can see the dead. I can talk to them, and I can hear them. I can feel them, too. Don’t believe me? Watch this.” I was determined to show them what I could make happen. I called MaryJane’s name. She came right to me, like she said she would. I told her to write on the chalkboard. Everyone thought I was stupid. They haven’t seen anything yet, though. MaryJane wrote on the brand new chalkboard, as I explained. This is what it said, “My name is MaryJane. I was killed here in this very classroom by a woman named Sheryl Darby. You should become friends with Lorrainne. She’s a very nice girl.” I was as surprised as the students were. I didn’t realize she would write who killed her. Everybody gasped. Ms. Darby gave me an unexpected look. She started stumbling over to me. She grabbed me by my ear, and whispered in it. It didn’t feel very nice, and her hands were cold, and slimy. I hated being there. I hated my special power. I wanted it all to go away. Ms. Darby had said, “Where did you hear that story at, Lorrianne? Where’d you hear it?!” She screamed, and I jumped. All of the school kids were speechless. Scared, and speechless. I didn’t realize it until just now, but right behind me, our principal was standing in the room where we were supposed to be having math. He didn’t look very happy at all, and at that moment, all of my stress went away. All of my fears had left me. They melted away, and were gone forever.
***
It’s been two years since that happened. I’m glad it’s over with, too. I was such a wimpy little kid back then. Being scared. Ha. What’s scared?
I’m probably guessing you could have told the ending of the story. If you haven’t, I’ll sum it all up for you. Let’s just put it this way… Ms. Darby got in big trouble. She went to jail for murdering a child that was not found to be ever seen again. It said in the newspaper a few weeks ago that she had been brutally beat by one of her cellmates. She instantly fell to the ground and passed away, after one punch to the head. I’d like to get more information about it, but I just want to forget about her. The positive sides are, I helped MaryJane, like I promised; she was extremely grateful for that. My mom, dad, family members, and all of my classmates know I can talk to sprits. Everybody’s my friend now, and I’m as happy as can be. I didn’t think it’d turn out this way, but here I am. :) I’ll be on way now… oh no. What’s that? I heard a strong, deep voice. It sounded like it was coming from inside of me. It was saying something. I couldn’t make out all of the words. All I heard was, “Ms. Darby is coming to get you!” My stomach sank to the floor. Ahhh!