The Ghosts Come Out

My Dead Sister

"My sister liked to play with the man who came to our front garden gate a lot. He always wore a long black court and a hat. You could never see his face. Every Tuesday, at 4:00 pm, he would appear at the gate, waiting for her. Mommy and Daddy were working at those times, so they didn't know about the man at all. She told me it was a secret, and if I told on her, then the man would get her and I would have a sister anymore. On Saturday Mommy asked us what we did when they weren't home. I accidentally said 'Heather talks to the man outside, but I play by myself.' For some reason, Mommy and Daddy got very mad. Heather was crying and I knew the man was going to get her. I went to our room and I hugged Ellie because I was sad. My sister went to sleep later, and when it was dark, I asked her what was going to happen. She didn't say anything so I looked at her to see if she was asleep. Her eyes were black, and open, and there was yucky gooey stuff out of her mouth. I turned around, and the man was standing at the window, right up close, and he was looking at me. His hat wasn't on that time, and he had black gooey stuff in his mouth too. His eyes were all weird and scratched out too. It didn't look like he wanted to play then. I went to bed because the man was scaring me, and when I woke up, Heather was hanging from a little piece of rope by her neck. I think she was dead. My dead sister..."

The doctor looked at the girl. She was innocent, but clearly she had seen some things she did not need to see. "Honey," she sighed. "You don't have a sister. You are Heather."