That Day In August

Chapter One: The Story She Wrote

Walking on some old train tracks that were once used for delivering coal to the towns from coal mines.

After a few years, the mines stopped being the main source of income for the town and slowly began to shut down leading the towns to become vacant ghost towns.

I got to our favorite spot just a bit off from the tracks. Noticing I was there before My sister Anna, I decided to start setting up the picnic she agreed to have with me. We haven't seen each other since we last talked during the summer of 2015.

The last conversation we had was an odd one. It was a nice summer day in June but mildly hot we went out to buy some ice cream and bubble tea up near the north market while we were there we both decided to get some noodle soup for lunch once we were done shopping.

After we did some shopping we went up to the top floor to talk "so uh Sis are you afraid of death?" She asked me as I was taking a drink of my boba tea.

I choked a bit on the boba only to look at her surprised "why do you ask? Of course, I'm not." I laughed a bit thinking she was making a silly joke but that wasn't the case Anna looked at me in the most serious way I thought possible.

"But I'm not joking," she says, staring at me. not even touching her ramen. She just lets it sit there getting cold.

I just sat across from her in silence, eating my ramen only to have her break the silence with a simple question "well?" Anna asks. I didn't know how to respond properly but I knew she was expecting an answer from me. "Anna are you uh are you alright?" I ask without knowing the price of what I would have to pay and the things that would follow.

After that conversation, we didn't say much to each other. That was the last time we had spoken to each other.

My attention got broken by the sound of a woman's voice singing faintly in the distance.

At that moment I decided to head back to the train tracks to go back home.

While walking back home I glanced over to see two girls walking alongside in the open field following behind them was a deer with marble blue eyes.

The deer stopped and noticed I was watching the girls as I was unaware of what I was doing.

I didn't notice the deer watching me until our eyes met. I looked away, broke the awkward and uncomfortable stare, and continued walking home as I walked away. I still felt the deer's eyes follow me until I was out of sight.

I make it back to my house to be greeted inside with a strong scent of rosemary mint. I didn't think much of it until I heard a sound of a mirror shattering over in the next room. I went over to clean up the glass from the shattered mirror before I could.

I noticed a translucent boy, kind of almost like they were a ghost wearing tattered jeans and a worn slightly old hoodie with a flower crown of wilted roses and lavender resting on top of his head.

"Hey, are you ok?" I ask him while approaching with caution, as I got close to him I noticed a mirror shard sticking out of his back. I wanted to reach out to him but I didn't know what to do.

I thought about hugging him or trying to help him in whatever way I could but stopped myself before I could do anything. without even thinking I placed my hand on the kid's shoulder feeling the coldness. It was like an early fall morning chill.

Only for a moment, I could feel the pain and sadness he carries as we both stood there in silence with tears.

I turned him around, giving the boy a warm and proper hug. I felt him hug me back only to say a few simple words with a kind and gentle smile "thank you" is all that was said from the boy before he faded away passing on to the other side leaving his flower crown behind.

I picked up the crown and placed it above the shattered mirror then swiped up the broken shards and headed up to bed for the night.

Unaware that this was only the beginning of something that would change my life forever.