She flipped her pillow over, the cool side resting below her cheek, and yawned. The red numbers on her alarm clock showed that it was, indeed, 2:34 AM. She hadn�t caught a wink of sleep since she decided to go to bed at 11:00 PM. She tossed to her right once more, her red sweatshirt twisted around her. A strand of brown hair fell into her eyes as she sat up. With her long, delicate fingers, she pushed it behind her left ear. She pulled the sweatshirt and put it back in the right place. She reached under the navy blue covers, pulling her gray jogging pant legs down to her ankles.
Sighing, she fell back down to the feather pillow. She looked up to the ceiling. The blackness consumed all reality and she thought she saw smoke. The misty air floated above her and she crinkled her forehead in a sign of confusion.
�Go to sleep,� she told herself as she flipped onto her stomach, hands under her pillow.
Sighing once more, she closed her eyes, but something unknown troubled her. She began to drift off into sleep. A small smirk crept upon her lips and she was almost asleep until she heard whispers.
�Help me�� the whispering voices commanded.
Once more she awoke, and she turned around, sitting up with her legs crossed. �I just want to sleep,� she whined pathetically.
There it was again, the smoke in the room. �What is that?� she thought, her heart beginning to beat rapidly.
The fog began to encircle her and she began to think the house was on fire. Hurriedly, she got up. She stepped slowly over to the thin wooden door and touched the brass doorknob to see if it was hot. It was cool, so she opened the door, afraid to see a fire or lots of smoke. She turned the knob hastily and upon the other side was nothing unusual. Her hallway lay ahead, coats hanging to her right, the bathroom to the left and her office straight ahead. There was no smell of smoke nor fire, so she began to think she was becoming dellusional.
She crept through the hallway, the floor below squeaking slightly with her slow movements. She saw the doorway to the living room to her right and she entered under it. Everything was as it always had been. The cute lime green couch she got from her Aunt Jane, the brown checkered rocking chair she purchased at a flea market and her small television against the wall, upon a wooden stand. Nothing was burning and she felt relieved.
She walked left into the kitchen. The linoleum floor was cold upon her bare feet. She approached the light switch and flicked it. She squinted at the brightness. Then, she went to a cupboard and took out a small glass, went to her sink, and filled it with cool water. She drank it briskly and placed the glass beside the sink. She flicked the light back off and went once more into the living room.
A slight movement in the corner, near her phone, caught her eye. She tried to adjust her eyesight to see what it could be. She remembered the fog in her room and thought that her eyes were playing tricks on her again. It was then that she saw the white eyes, the grotesque figure, and heard the wheezing whisper coming from its mouth. She gasped in fear and felt unable to move.
With her hand over her mouth, she backed away, and fell behind the rocking chair. Horror clasped onto her very being as she heard the voice say, �Help me��
�Who�who are you?� she stuttered, her voice quivering.
Upon her knees on the ground, she peered to the right of the rocking chair and saw it still crouched in the corner, its thin, pale body barely moving. She didn�t know whether to run from it or help it. She didn�t even know what it was. It was then that it stood up, and hobbled its way over to where she was. She began to sweat profusely and it still slowly started to approach her, stopping every other step.
She could see its white eyes glaring at her face, its long legs and arms glistening in the darkness, the baldness of its body and head, the gnarled expression upon its face as it finally came before her. She couldn�t hold it in any longer, so she shrieked and got up to run. It was then that its long, cold fingers grasped her right arm. It looked down at her with the most somber, yet frightening expression.
�Help me,� it said again.
Sobbing uncontrollably from the fear, she managed to ask, �How am I supposed to help you?�
It was then that it let go of her arm and walked away into the kitchen, disappearing through the door like a ghost. She collapsed upon the ground and put her face in her hands and continued to cry. She turned all the lights on in her house and stayed awake into the morning.
Sunrise was a relief. She looked out her window and saw the sky change to vibrant oranges and reds. Still in the clothes she was wearing the night before, she sat in the rocking chair and continued to relive the frightening night over in her mind. She tried to understand what had happened. She knew it couldn�t have been a dream and she contemplated whether the creature was a ghost or not. It had disappeared through the kitchen door, so it had to have been a ghost. Yet, it wasn�t transparent and it�s skin was icy cold as it clasped onto her arm. She shivered.
Around 7:30 am, she took a shower and got ready for work. She dressed into a skirt that was to her calves and a white shirt with a sweater vest over it. She felt exhausted, but she didn�t know if she�d be able to sleep in her house ever again. Then she began to ponder why the ghost had never appeared to her before. She had lived in this house for almost four years and never did anything like that happen to her.
She took her black Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera to work. Once she got there, she saw her coworker, Edwin. He looked at her sympathetically and said, �You look really tired today. Are you feeling all right?�
�As good as to be expected,� she answered wearily.
She was on the computer all day, plugging in numbers and equations into the database. A dread came into her heart. She didn�t want to go back home. The night would approach and it could come back to her. �Maybe I should tell Edwin what happened?� she asked herself.
She shook the idea off, thinking, �No, he would think I was crazy or just laugh at me�.
Then she cocked her head to one side and thought, �Quite possibly he would understand and stay with me tonight to see if it came back.�
Aloud a �Hmm�� came out of her mouth.
�No,� she thought again, �All my luck the thing wouldn�t show up and Edwin would call the paddy wagon to come and take me away.�
Fearfully, at 5:45 PM, she left her office and worked her way to her car, slowly and hesitantly. Inside, she turned on the radio to a rock station. She started the car. She looked into the rearview mirror to back out, only to see it standing there, the chalky skin on it looking as if it were rotting. She screamed, slamming on her breaks, and started to cry. She had begun to violently shake and she looked up into her mirror to notice it was gone. She was still afraid and she thought that possibly it had gotten into her car, so she looked around slowly. No, it was very much gone with only the memory of its disgusting body in her mind.
�No matter what,� she uttered to herself, �it is going to follow me unless I help it.�
Onward she went home. The gray exterior of the house towered over her existence and made her despise it with fear running in her veins. She turned on every light once more, hoping that maybe it was the light kept the creature away. She sat in the rocking chair, a soft blanket draped over her body, and fearfully waited.
She had fallen asleep and awoke to a dark house. She didn�t remember turning off the lights. She reached over to the lamp at her left and tried to turn it on. It didn�t budge. Then she saw that it had been unplugged somehow. She stooped down and plugged it back in. As she got back up, she turned around only to be facing the ugly beastly creature. She screamed and it stood there, neither blinking, moving nor breathing. This time she noticed it was wearing a thin cloth draped around its body. The creature reeked of decay, but she held herself from gagging.
Continuing to look at her with a desperation in its desolate eyes, it said its only words, �Help me��
�Okay,� she said sounding out of breath, �I will help you. But you must promise to leave me alone after I do.�
It nodded and began to walk towards the kitchen. Under the doorway, it turned ever so slightly and looked at her. Its right arm went out to its side and a long bony finger came out, pointing to the door.
�You want me to follow you?� she questioned and it looked at her, and signaled with a nod.
She stepped slowly and followed the ghost to the door. It walked through and she opened it. It was still walking, not being aware of anything around it. Down the back porch steps it descended and she trailed with an unbearable ache within. She couldn�t focus on anything but the way the creature moved. It�s lank shape walked unsteadily upon its legs and the arms dangled, moving with every step. Its shoulders moved from side to side. It walked across the lawns of her neighbors and finally came to a shed. It walked through the small, poorly made door. She tried it and it was open, so she walked it. She felt startled every time she saw the repulsive figure.
It pointed with its finger to a shovel. She walked over and picked up the shovel idly and the creature seemed satisfied. It walked past her, the rotting smell of its flesh crawling into her nostrils and up to her smelling sense. She gagged slightly and once more continued to trail behind it.
The cool breeze of the summer air clung to her skin and she got goosebumps. She rubbed her arms, trying to warm up. They walked past five houses until they came to a wooded area. The crescent moon in the sky beamed down upon them as they entered the woods. She felt so distressed and she wished she were at work, during the daytime, with her friends and coworkers all around her. It was then that she had nothing to fear but the boss and getting her work done on time. She thought that she�d take that over this any day.
The trees crowded in and she felt almost claustrophobic in the small area. The pale phantom walked deep into the woods and she feared that she might never return to the outside world. She didn�t want to die here. Yet, she still walked behind its languid frame hoping it would hurry up on telling her how to help it.
Finally, it stopped in a tiny clearing and pointed to the earth that was beside a tall evergreen tree. She was out of breath and asked, �You want me to dig?�
Its head made a nodding movement and she began to dig up the ground as it stood watching over her. She felt so afraid and she had no idea why it wanted her to dig. She thought that maybe it wanted to bury itself or maybe there was a hidden treasure below. She hoped there was a treasure and it gave it to her. Then she felt disappointed in herself and she felt selfish.
An hour went by and she was still digging the solid earth. She was so tired and sore and every once in awhile she glanced at the being, a sad look upon its face, and asked, �Am I done digging yet?�
It didn�t nod so she assumed she had to continue. She was all dirty and her back ached. It was then that she hit something hard and metal. She cleared the soil away and saw a metal box, with a latch on the side. The creature walked over to her and looked into the ground. It moaned and then pointed downward. She then questioned, �You want me to get the box out of there?�
It nodded and down she went into the ground. She couldn�t budge the box. It was wedged in there ever so snug. Then she began to pry at the latch. The latch made a clicking sound and opened. She hopped out of the hole, and upon her stomach, she reached into the hole and opened the lid. She gasped, her heart�s pace quickening, and saw a little boy wrapped in a white blanket. She took the little boy into her arms and saw that he was still alive. She looked up to find the creature gone. She carried the little boy out of the woods, running and out of breath. She didn�t stop until she came to the road. She looked to her left and right and decided to go to her left, where her house was. The little boy was shaking in her arms as she made her way to her house hastily.
She walked up her back porch steps, almost tripping, and with the little boy pressed against her chest, she opened the door and walked inside. She made it to the phone and called 911. The operator came on, �911, is this an emergency?�
She stumbled over her words slightly, but said, �Yes�yes, I found a little boy in the woods. He was in a box. He�s unconscious. I don�t know how long he�s been there. Please, come here quickly.�
The operator took down the address and eight minutes later, an ambulance arrived, putting the little boy on a stretcher. She got into the ambulance with him and said, �I don�t know his name,� when they asked.
One man with a nametag that said Frank Worcester asked, �How did you know where to find this boy?�
She shrugged with a puzzled expression on her face and said, �You�d think I was crazy if I told you.�
�Try me,� he said, his dark hair over his ears slightly.
She began to tell her story and Frank nodded and frowned and smiled. �Sadly enough,� he said, �I believe you. I am a big believer in the paranormal.�
Once inside the hospital, she was taken into an emergency room to be examined after they noticed her limping. They said it was a sprain. A couple hours later, she was lead into a room to see the little boy lying there, eyes open. He was smiling, his arms outstretched. There was a man and a woman to his right.
She went to him and hugged him tight. �Thank you for saving me,� he said kindly.
Tears filled her eyes and it was then that she remembered the spirit who came to her. It saved his life, but she didn�t know how to tell the little boy that. She hoped to see the spirit again, yet she knew she never would.
� February 7, 2000