The river trickled by along with the hours. My head throbbed from exhaustion, but I refused to go home now.
I tried to stay awake, but despite my effort my eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Eventually, I collapsed in a sprawled heap onto the rocky bank beside the water.
"Help!" I writhed in my sleep as that one word echoed through my mind, demolishing every drop of my humanity. It wasn't the word that caused my horror; it was who was saying them. Josh was speaking to me through my dreams.
Restless and distressed, fragile and alone, I awoke at the crack of dawn, darkness still swamping the scene. At first everything seemed fine, but after a while, things began to change: the shadows stretched across the river to tamper with my mind; leaves chased me through the woods, towards my home; the wind howled ferociously, swishing my hair around my face.
Josh's funeral was yesterday, and he had already returned to haunt me for life.
Or maybe even longer.
