A Night With My Ghost

Part 1: Darkness is Preferred

"Now I lay me down to sleep, 

I pray the Lord my soul to keep; 

If I should die before I wake, 

I pray the Lord my soul to take."

Over and over, this children's prayer repeated itself in a subconscious fashion. Every time I tried to break this rhyme, it came back, like a horrible pop song, replaying itself. 

I am so tired of it.

I can't sleep. How can I? I flung open by bed sheets. Feeling the warmth of my body heat drift away. Gently, I lifted my bottom, to make the least amount of sound possible. I plan on landing quietly on my toes. 

I hate the creaking of springs, it always makes me seem as if I'm the thunder in the night. 

Looking up, I saw Danny above me. Sleeping like a large teddy bear. His body mass, large from fat and muscles were relaxed and calm. His hairy arms and legs the color of a soft brown moth wing. Not to be forgotten, his puffy head of curly, brown hair that he slicked back into a lion's mane. His snore was loud and steady, along with the other half a dozen boys with their own range from quiet to loud snores. All boys ranging from early middle school to late teens. Each singing their own song with the crickets and toads of the forest. 

Never have I ever seen a night like this...

The moon is glowing like a jelly-fish in the shape of a dime. Stars were sprinkled around like glowing sugar. The wind was constantly blowing, though a gust blew extra strong from time to time. The sea crashed sorrowfully in the near distance, it's song bringing back old memories. All of this was framed in a large, Gothic style window, that matched the old stone manor that sits on it's own in the lush, green countryside.

It sure is strange how everyone follows what has been done centuries before them. Sleeping through the night...What a waste. 

Turning away from the window, I tiptoed past bunk beds that stood in rows. Each filled with two boys, which for my sake, I hope are sleeping peacefully. Clutching the metal door knob, I pushed the rotting, wooden door slowly, wincing every time it creaked and trembled too loudly. I pushed until there was an opening just large enough for me to slip through. I look down the hall. The long hallways are as they have always been. Endless, somber, and deserted.

Places where torches were once used, now hung rusty lights, that I believe were meant to brighten the hall. Make it less gloomy. How thoughtful.

The cables for the lights run along the stone walls. A thin dilapidated rug runs wall to wall. I guess the rug to be red, but really, it can be any other color in the whole freakin' rainbow. 

I am looping through the labyrinth of halls and old rooms. Each as empty and lifeless as the last. Tiptoeing farther and farther from occupied rooms, I became braver. I am now using my entire feet to walk, not just my soles. A rickety window moaned and gurgled from a sudden breath of wind streaming into the hall. I cross past this window where I stop.

"What have you done with me?" 

The high pitched, airy whisper sang into the wind. I froze. 

"Where have you put me to sleep?"

The voice. Sounds so young, so sweet. Do I know it? All this time, I left my head pointed in the direction I was heading.

Forward march.

I dare to turn my head right, to see down the window. Thin window drapes, embroidered with dull colored flowers flung and yanked on a flimsy rod; swishing in front of the window. Clink, clank! 

The rod rattled powerfully; with another burst of wind the rod and curtain came alive. Crouched on my knees, the rod and curtain hit the wall above me with a thud; falling lightly on my head. 

"Do not forget me..."

Glowing moon, lucid stars...Yes. The night has not changed. The voice is still there. 

On the ground, three stories down and a hundred yards away. Something shadowy grew steadily defined.; from a hazy, obscure shape to a radiating glow of a human form, with an arm draped in moldy lace rose and pointed towards me. I blinked. Several times. 

She is gone. Where is she now?

I buried my head into the palms of my hands. Forcing myself not to cry bloody Hell. I rubbed my hands up and down my face. When the wind died down slightly in a sudden way, I glanced up. 

"Why had you not called to me?" 

I choked. My legs jelled, my knees crumbled. A female of small structure. Head to toe, she was covered in wedding lace. It laid about her in tatters. Colors ranging from pale brown to dark gray. Dirt still clung in places. 

"Have you missed me?"

She sat on the window sill, holding her arm inches away from my face. Her long legs pressed against the wall, folded over each other neatly. She gradually tilted her head, brokenly, mockingly. The lace veil she wore moved with her head, as if it was starched and didn't move. If you were carefully watching her small chest, it never once rose or fell.

Conclusion, She was not breathing. 

In less than a second, she was gone. I bundled my legs from under me and pulled myself. Holding onto the sill that she sat moments ago. My eyes searched the countryside ravenously. Fifty yards away, the ghostly figure floated toward the sea. 

Any sane person would've hid, or at least sought safety in numbers. But like I said, that's for sane people. A put out fire, reignited in me. My feet felt its burn. I ran down staircases. Only slowing down when running into sharp corners and objects. I never stopped.

Wind whipped my hair and body, making me squint. In only my boxer shorts and a white tee, the cold air licked the very core of my bones. Bat wings flapped above me, the croaking of frogs and toads became the harmony. Both of which were joined by crickets and night owls. The sea. My God, she played her most beautiful melody that day. Waves crushed hungrily, water lapped unceasingly, the ocean droned endlessly. Outside this haunted music, I can't hear anything. A slight mist begins to settle in, making my eyes work harder to see.

Night is beautiful. Why are people so afraid? What monsters do they see? What fear do they feel? Have they not seen beauty in ugliness. Happiness in the unknown? I am glad in some ways for people's unawareness. Because I am the few who see true beauty. Who feels true freedom. Who braves the known and unknown. 

These thoughts rolled around in my brain. Like a loose marble, I ran and ran. The burning of my feet had reached my heart.