By Eli Singer ’22
I was home alone when the door opened and Sam and his friend Andy came in. It was a stormy day and sheets of rain were constantly pounding at the trees. The sun had all but disappeared from the sky behind the heavy, dark clouds. The wind howled through the branches and the trees swayed.
“Close the door quickly! I don’t want to get the floor to get all wet!” I said.
“Why don’t we go to a cemetery and play hide and seek? I know you love that game,” Sam said.
“Nah. I would much rather go to your house and play on the Xbox you have. The weather is so bad and I don’t want to get all wet. And isn’t there a story that many people go there and never come back? I just don’t like the idea of it.” Richard said, shuddering at the thought.
“Oh come on! Stop being such a baby. You know that rumor isn’t true,” Andy said. “Fine. I’ll go if all of you will go,” said Richard trying not to look scared.
“Race you!” Sam yelled, getting a head start.
“Hey! No fair!” Richard yelled taking up the rear. Richard was the slowest kid in fourth grade at Willow School. They ran about half of a mile before they got to the cemetery. Richard got last place, as usual.
“Andy, can you be the seeker? I hate being seeker,” Richard said.
“No way! Nose goes!” Andy yelled crouching down and touching his nose. Richard did the same, and Sam was last to do it.
“Too bad,” Andy said, patting Sam’s wet back and trying to look sorry. He wasn’t doing so good at faking it though.
“Give us one minute to hide,” Richard yelled over the howl of the wind. Sam covered his eyes and they ran off. Richard decided to trudge after Andy. When Richard saw a great place to hide, he ran toward it but Andy got there first.
“Twenty three, twenty two, twenty one,” Sam yelled. Richard was running out of time. He ran farther and farther away, still not finding a good place to hide. The wind was ripping at his clothes. Richard shuddered. It felt as if ghosts were pulling at his clothes.
“Nine, eight, seven, six,” Sam yelled. Still, Richard could not find a good place to hide. By now Richard was drenched to the bone and very, very cold.
“I had better find a place to hide that has a roof so that I can get dry,” Richard thought.
“Two, one, ready or not here I come!” Sam yelled starting to run. Richard could see him, but from where he was standing, Sam was very small. Richard had to find a good place to hide, otherwise he would have to seek. “There it is! It’s even covered!” Richard thought happily when he saw a crypt with its door left open. Inside was a coffin with its lid ajar. Richard slipped inside the coffin and pulled closed the lid.
After a few minutes, He heard Sam yell, “I found you!”
“Oh come on! Did you find Richard yet?” Andy asked.
“No. Not yet,” Sam replied sadly.
“Lets go this way.” Sam said. His footsteps got quieter and quieter until Richard couldn’t hear them anymore. The minutes ticked away until it had been an hour. It was
getting way too stuffy. Richard could barely breathe anymore. He tried to open up the lid, but it wouldn’t budge. He was losing time. He couldn’t stay in there for any longer. He started patting frantically at the walls to see if there was some kind of latch to open up the lid. Just when he thought that he wouldn’t last any longer, Richard found a little dip in the coffin’s wall. Richard shoved, and it went in.
“Yes!” He thought as a grinding sound filled the coffin. Finally he could breathe! “Wait… the lid isn’t moving!” Richard thought as the floor started to move.
“Ha, ha, ha! You will never be found! Now go join the others deep in the ground!
Ha, ha, ha!” screeched the voice. Richard looked up and screamed. There, with his head in his hands, was a ghost. Before Richard could even scream, the ghost drifted through the coffin lid and Richard slipped through the floor, both of them disappearing from sight.
And that is the sad story of Richard Marley, and also the end of him.
