Crossings(P.S. Winn) I am only eleven, but I’m not crazy. I know what I saw. My parents didn’t believe me when I told them. That’s okay, I think I can handle the problem.
Maybe, I should just try and explain.

It all began a couple of weeks ago. When I was asleep. A crying sound woke me from my slumber. Sitting up in bed, I stared at, what at first looked like, a mist at the foot of my bed. I stared at the shape that was forming, and realized I was staring at a girl, who looked to be even younger than my age.
At first, I was scared to death. I lifted the covers over my head. Then I heard a scared sounding voice of a young girl.
“Please, don’t hide from me. I need your help.”
I dropped the covers just enough, so I could see. The girl, now more solid than before, was staring at me, eyes wide. I lowered the blanket more.
“What kind of help could I give you? Who are you anyway?”
The girl sighed. “My name is Nancy. I live next door.”
I frowned, knowing what was next door. I hoped the girl actually meant, not next door, but further down the street.
“I’m Mason, do you mean the large house down on the corner?”
The girl shook her head. “No, I live in the place to the south of your home. I am alone there. My place is just beneath the large oak tree.”
I wanted to scream. I knew the oak tree. My friend, Jimmy and I, took turns daring each other to go on that lot, and climb the big, old tree. I frowned.
“Well, okay, if you say so. What kind of help do you need?”
The sound of sobbing could be heard. When the girl spoke her words were broken up, by her crying.
“I need to move away from that place, but my parents won’t let me.”
First of all, I knew the girl was too young to move away from a place, especially if her parents didn’t want her to.
“Who are your parents?”
The girl sighed. “Emily, and Luke Alder. They live in town.”
I took in the girl’s words, my heart beating like a drum, in my chest.
“Why don’t you give me a day or two to think about all of this? I’ll see what I can do.”
Smiling, the girl nodded, enthusiastically.
“Thank you, Mason. Thank you so much. I’ll come back in a few days.”
That said, the girl vanished.

I had a hard time getting back to sleep, so by morning, when I woke up, I felt like I hadn’t gotten any rest. Going downstairs, I went into the kitchen. My parents looked at me, as I grabbed the things I needed to make my normal breakfast of cold cereal.
As I ate, I talked. “A ghost came to my room last night.”
My mom shook her head. “Mason, stop that. You know your father, and I, don’t like you telling your stories.”
My dad also nodded. “Your mother is right, Mason. You have such a vivid imagination. There are no such things as ghosts.”
Knowing I could never convince my parents about what I had seen, I just shrugged, and finished my cereal. After I did, I rinsed my bowl, and spoon, then asked my parents if I could go see my best friend, Jimmy Sykes. I was told okay, but to be home before dinner.

Leaving the house, I grabbed my bike, and rode to Jimmy’s house. After I got to his place, Jimmy also jumped on his bike, and we rode down to the place, next to my house, that my late night visitor had talked about. On the way, I explained to Jimmy what had happened, and what Nancy had asked of me.
My friend was smiling. “Wow. That’s so cool, Mason. How are you going to help this girl, though?”

By then, the two of us were standing in front of the place. We stared at the gate connected to a four-foot-high, brick wall. I looked at the writing on the gate, then read it out loud. “West Side Cemetery.”
I shook my head. “I’m not sure how to help. I think we have to find Nancy’s parents.”
Jimmy frowned. “We, what the hell you talking about Mason? Where did this, we, come from?”
I laughed. “I just figured that you, being my best friend and all, would help me out here. I can’t get any sleep with a ghost standing in my room, looking for help.”
Jimmy sighed. “Okay, but how you going to find these parents?”
I shrugged. “Let’s go to the library. If Nancy died, maybe we can find her obituary. That should let us know if her parents are even in this town.”
Jimmy nodded. “Maybe, but you don’t even know when Nancy died.”
I smiled. “There might be a way to find out. Nancy said she was in the shade of that old oak tree. We just need to go in, and find her headstone.”
Jimmy looked at me, his eyes wide.
“You really want to go in there? This is an old cemetery. Some of those graves are new, but most are hundreds of years old. I hate to disturb the dead.”
I laughed. “Better than having the dead disturbing me. Come on, don’t be a chicken.”
My last words had Jimmy dropping his bike.
“I ain’t no chicken. Come on, I’ll even lead the way to prove it.”

Leaving our bikes on the sidewalk, Jimmy, and I, walked to the gate. We pushed it open, hearing the creaking sounds. Most people buried their loved ones over in the town cemetery. Still, some preferred the older grave yard. The two of us walked to the big oak tree. The one neither of us had yet entered the cemetery to climb. Despite daring each other to do it.
Moving under the tree, we could easily see the grave. By the date, we could see Nancy Alder had died twenty years earlier. I shook my head.
“Shit, twenty years. That’s a long time for Nancy to be stuck here. Her parent’s must have been devastated by her death. It says on that headstone, she was only six years old. Hell, I knew she was young, but I didn’t think she was that young.”
Jimmy was nodding. “That’s awful. I wonder what she died from?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, and I wouldn’t want to ask Nancy, or her parents. At least I know Nancy coming to see me was real. Those names listed are the same ones she gave me as being her parents.”
Jimmy nodded. “Okay, let’s get out of here, and go to the library. We can look up Nancy’s obituary now. Maybe even find more about her death.”

Leaving the cemetery quickly, Jimmy, and I, got our bikes and headed to the library. Jimmy was better at using the tools at the library than me. He talked to the librarian for a few minutes. Then the two of us were taken to a room where we could look at the archives from newspapers on microfilm. We found the papers dating back just before the date on Nancy’s headstone and began reading. It didn’t take long to find the glaring headline of a young girl, run over by a drunk driver. From there, Jimmy and I, found the parent's address. It seemed the accident had happened in front of their own home.
We thanked the librarian for helping us, then headed back outside. It was getting close to lunchtime, so we headed to Jimmy’s house before going to the place we knew we had to head.
Jimmy’s parents were at work, so the two of us went in, and made bologna sandwiches, and grabbed some potato chips, and a pop. We ate quickly, cleaned up, then headed out.
Taking our bikes, we rode to the address we had found. The home we rode to, was rundown, but there was a car in the driveway. I pointed at it.
“Looks like someone might be home. Are you ready to go see why Nancy is being held in this world?”
Jimmy shook his head. “Not really, but I think it has to be done. I can’t bear the thought of you losing any beauty sleep. You can’t afford that.”
I slugged Jimmy’s arm. “Yeah right, very funny. You’re the one that needs beauty sleep. Never mind, let’s just do this. If we don’t do it now, I’m afraid I won’t find the courage to try again.”
Rubbing his arm, Jimmy smiled. “I know exactly what you mean. I feel the same.”

The two of us walked to the front door of the house, both of us nervous. I reached out, and knocked on the door.
A woman, who looked about fifty or sixty to me, answered the door, a frown covering her face.
“Can I help you boys?”
I wasn’t sure how to answer that question, then decided to just blurt out what was happening.
“Your daughter, Nancy, came to my room. She’s a ghost. Nancy can’t move from this world because you, and your husband, won’t let her spirit go.”
The frown lines deepened, as the woman burst into tears. “Who are you? Why would you come here, and say something like that?”
I shrugged. “Nancy asked me to. I’m really sorry your little girl got run over, but she says she is stuck here, and wants to go. I’m sure there’s a better world she wants to travel to. You have to stop holding her back.”
The sound of a door slamming, had both Jimmy and I jumping. We stared at each other, not sure what had happened. Jimmy put a hand on my shoulder. “C’mon Mason, let’s get out of here. You did all you could.”

I sighed, knowing Nancy would be back. I just hoped her spirit wouldn’t attack me, or something, for not helping. I didn’t know what else Jimmy, and I, could do.

Three nights later, I was again asleep, when the sound of giggling woke me up. I sat up in bed, and stared at a smiling Nancy.
“Thank you so much. I get to move on. Can you believe it?”
I frowned. “I don’t understand. Your mom slammed the door in my friends’, and my, face. She didn’t want to talk to us.”
The girl nodded. “I know. I went there, and watched. I also hung around until my dad got home from work. When my mom told him what happened, both of them were angry. That is until, I walked over to them, and showed myself. They saw me standing there, crying. I didn’t even have to say anything. They could see I was hurting. They knew then, that you were telling them the truth.”
Nancy clapped her hands together, her grin huge.
“They have given me my freedom. Mom and dad know, now, that they can love me, while also releasing me.”
Turning her head, Nancy looked over her shoulder. “Oh, some people are here to guide me on my journey. I need to go. Thanks again. Tell your friend I said thanks to him too.”
I nodded, as I watched several ghosts step into my room, then take Nancy away.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I tried to take in every detail. I couldn’t wait to share it all with Jimmy.
Now, the two of us, could also rest, and enjoy that beauty sleep we both so desperately needed.

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