Somewhere Behind Me… but I Didn’t Dare Look Back…
Heart pounding, I looked around, sure she was hiding nearby, laughing at me. “Sissy?” I called, my voice unnaturally loud in the silent cemetery.
No one answered.
“Where are you”, I called again.
Still no answer. Not even a giggle.
“Stupid brat!” I yelled. “You can’t scare me with your dumb tricks.”
This time, crows answered, shattering the quiet with raucous cries.
Angry now, I walked right up to the angel. Sissy wasn’t going to frighten me. Or make me look like an idiot. I’d show her.
But as I grabbed the sweatshirt, I noticed the words carved at the angel’s feet.
In Memory of Our Beloved Daughter and Sister
Teresa Abbott
March 11, 1967 to July 19, 1977
May her soul rise from the deep and be at peace
Teresa, Teresa, The name ran round and round in my head like the words of a song you don’t want to hear. Teresa, Teresa, the wind whispered while the raindrops beat out the rhythm.
The angel’s blank eyes gazed at me, its hand reaching out as if to seize mine. I edged away, but the angel continued to stare at me, its marble face expressionless, stained from years of rain and snow.
Unable to bear those eyes, I ran towards the road, dodging headstones and trees. Somewhere behind me, I thought I heard Sissy laugh, but I didn’t dare look back.
Extract from the book Deep and Dark and Dangerous
By Mary Downing Hahn
All Rights Reserved.
New York, N.Y.: Clarion Books, c2007
Call Number: J English HAH
Extract submitted by Nelly Fredolin
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Do you believe in ghosts—that they can come back and haunt the living? Do you have any personal encounters to share?
June 7th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
horros!