#Wattys2015 The Ghost of James Fitzpatrick

PART ONE - Chapter 1

James

My body was just below the water's surface, floating, riding the waves of this huge river, The Great Muddy, they call it, the Mighty Mississip, Ol' Man River, The Gathering of Waters...it has more nicknames than a pee wee baseball team. Do you know it starts all the way up in Minnesota, and that this great river flows over 2,000 miles to the Gulf of Mexico? I've never been down that far, and from the looks of things, I never will.

I could tell I wasn't alive, because I saw myself in the water. I didn't feel sad, and I wasn't in any pain, but I do remember the shock of hitting the water. It was a long way down, and honestly, it felt like every bone in my body broke when I hit that river. I may as well have landed on a sidewalk.

Water is soft. It slips through your fingers when you cup your hand to drink. It's cool and welcoming on your feet when you step into Myer's Lake. This water, this dark river, did not welcome me.

Sarah

Do you remember that creepy story you used to tell at sleepovers? The one where the girl was babysitting by herself, while the little kid slept upstairs, and she kept getting those weird phone calls that started to freak her out, because the caller was saying things like: "I like your shirt" or "did you lock the front door?"...so she called the police (yeah, she was that freaked out) and the police, concerned for her safety, agreed to trace the calls, only to discover, to everyone's horror, that the calls were coming from within the house! It used to get me every time.

The reason I even mention this, is I got a text this morning. Early, before my alarm even went off. I heard the familiar "wuzz wuzz" of my cell phone as it vibrated on my wooden nightstand. I picked it up half asleep, thinking it was Lucy. I know she gets up early, and I also know she had questions about homework from last night. I shoved my glasses onto my face to read it, and saw it was one of those weird texts, with just the phone number, no name, and no previous texts. All it said was: "I can see you".

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