Ghostly Plea

Ashlyn

Ever since I can remember my father has always drawn away from my family during this time of year. He stays locked up in his study, only ever to come out for meals. Mother gets stressed during these times as well. She hates it when he is hurting, but he will not open for her. So, she never knows how to lift his spirits.

I miss my father during these times. He becomes stoic and harsh. It scares me to say the least. But being the answer seeker that I am, I will figure out what has been bothering him. That is a fact. In order to do so I'm standing in front of his study, looking through the keyhole. I see him get up from behind his desk and walk towards the door. I hurry and hide behind a planted fern, hoping he will not see me.

He walks out from his study, quietly shuts the door and continues down the hall and down the stairs. Light reflects off a small object around his neck. A key. He then walks out of sight. I hear the back doors opening and step away from my hiding place behind the fern. I walk to the big window at the end of the hall hoping to catch sight of him before he disappears behind the hedges. Shadows shift behind the shrubs as he makes his way to the pavilion-

"Sweetheart, whatever are you doing?" I whip around, trying to still my wildly beating heart. Mother doesn't need to know my snooping shenanigans. At least, not yet.

"Nothing," I say, smiling sweetly.

***

I hear a high-pitched scream coming from somewhere in the house. I sit bolt upright in bed, only to discover I'm lying on the wet soggy earth. How could this happen again? I stand on wobbly legs and look at my surroundings. It's completely black outside, no light to help see through the blanket of darkness surrounding me. Panic starts well in my chest. Where am I? Tall walls of vines and brush towers around me. How did I end up here?

I take a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. Panic won't get me anywhere. I look at my surroundings one more time. Rows of hedges surround me, making pathways. Even standing on my tippy toes I can't see above the tall walls. A memory comes to me all the sudden. I go to a corn maze every year with my friends, the same feeling of being lost forever and never coming back out comes to me right now. I must be in the maze.

But why am I here? I try to think back. I fell asleep in the house obviously, but I don't remember waking up or ending up here. None of it makes sense! I'm missing something, but what? When I was little my mom said I would sleepwalk. She would tell me things I did or said in my sleep, and I eventually realized they connected with things that happened to me during the day. So, me ending up here must have some significance. But I can't worry about that right now. Something is wrong in the house, and I need to be there to make sure none of my friends get hurt.

I look at the maze with a new sense of determination-

"Are you okay?" I turn to the voice startled.

A boy around my age stands there. I just stare, shocked. He's wearing a black t-shirt, stretched tight over his broad shoulders. Faded blue jeans and old black high tops complete the look. Slightly shaggy brown hair, and dark stormy eyes stare back at me. His lip corks up in a smirk, amused by my startled expression.

"I-I'm good," I manage to stutter out. Ghost, or help? I wonder.

Maybe he can help my friends and I. He looks normal, I mean is he cute, yes. But he seems human, not ghoulish at all. Someone with that pretty of a face shouldn't be a ghost. My cheeks turn red at my train of thought. Thankfully It's dark.

"You sure? You seem lost." He lifts an eyebrow while smirking still.

"Yeah, no. I'm perfectly fine." I wave a hand in the air hoping he believes me. "I love taking long walks in mazes when it's pitch-black outside. Kinda my hobby." I say and laugh uncomfortably.

"Sure," His gaze travels over my body. I shift uncomfortably, only wearing cotton shorts and a cami. The crisp night air sends goosebumps to travel up my arms. Or it Could have been the boy's intense gaze. I haven't had a cute guy look at me like that in a while. And it feels good even if it is from a mysterious stranger that may or may not be a ghost. And you know me, I always love a good mystery.

"You don't seem like a person who likes getting lost in mazes." He says to me,

I cross my arms over my chest. "I never said I was lost, did I?" I eye him skeptically. Who is this boy? "Did you know you're trespassing on private property?" I say with a hand on my hip. "I could call the police and have you arrested." I tell him bluffing. I can't call the police to arrest him, if I could I would already be gone from here.

"I've been coming here for months, no one has lived here for years. So, it seems like you're the one trespassing." He takes a step closer.

I take a step back, not knowing if I can trust this guy. "My friends and I have it booked for spring break."

"Now that doesn't seem right. No one has lived in this house for years because of the murder." If he expects me to be terrified of the news, then he has it all wrong. I'm living the horror story right now. "I'll give you directions out of the maze if you don't tell anyone about this encounter." He holds his hand out for a shake. I roll my eyes and bat his hand out of the way, walking away from him.

"I already told you once before, I'm not lost." I huff while he follows me around a bend of the maze. Hopefully I look like I know what I'm doing.

"You looked panicky there a couple minutes ago. You know, before you woke up on the maze floor."

I sucked in a surprised breath. "You saw?" I ask, hope filling my lungs. Maybe he can tell me how I got here. "Do you know how I got here? How I ended up in the maze?"

He looks at me like I'm insane. And in truth, I might be. "No," he answers slowly. "I only saw you passed out on the ground."

I curse under my breath and look up at the sky. Why? Why is this happening to me, my friends? I look back at the strange boy. For all I know this could be a dream.

"Hey, it's okay." He makes a move to put his hand on my shoulder. I glare, causing his arm to fall back to his side. He clears his throat. "I get it. You're not lost, and you are definitely not insane. "

I roll my eyes

"But here me out. I want to make sure that I'm the mysterious creeper in the maze, not you. And in order to do that I need to see you walk into the murder house myself. But let's keep this between us. No one else needs to know about this little moonlit rendezvous, deal?"

My eyes darted around me, looking for a way out. But sadly, I have no clue where the entrance is. I look at the boy frowning. The corner of his mouth twitches as if he already knows what I'm going to say.

"Deal. Lead the way."

He smirks at my tone.

"I'm William by the way, Will for short."

"Nice to know my maze stalker has a name." I retort sarcastically.

"Your maze stalker, possessive, are we?" Will chuckles.

"Can we just be quiet the rest of the way? Please?"

"Tell me your name and then we can." Will smiles mockingly.

"Ashlyn, my name is Ashlyn. Now can we stop talking?"

"Well Ashlyn, we can stop talking all you want. Here you go."

We made it out of the maze. I'm greeted by the lights of Eleanor Manor. I don't look back. He said not to mention our encounter to anyone, and I'll stick to that. I wouldn't care if I never saw his face again, even if it is attractive. But as I run to the house remembering the scream, I can't help feeling that this is not the last time I will see him. I feel his piercing gaze on my back until the glass doors shut in place. Sealing my fate with Will.