Ghost Town

Ghost Townby Linnea Clay-Youman, age 10

“Cassey, wait up!” Sally called as she chased her friend down the dimly lit street. “Ha ha! Betcha can’t catch me!” Cassey said. Cassey turned quickly around an apartment. Cassey grinned to herself as she waited for her friend to find her. After a half hour of waiting, Cassey slowly crept out of the alleyway. “She probably went home already . . . ” Cassey whispered to herself. “Mom!” Cassey called, flicking on the hallway light as she closed the door. “Oh honey!” her mother said as Cassey entered the kitchen. Her mothers eyes were glassy as though she had spent the entire day crying which wouldn’t have been much of a surprise considering that her father had passed away just a month ago. “I’m gonna go to bed now . . .” Cassey said slowly as she backed out of the room, not wanting to inform her that technically she hadn’t walked home with Sally. The next morning, Cassey woke up early to meet Sally over by the swings. As she stepped off her porch, a cold blast of wind hit her, almost knocking her over. “Augh!” she said as her scarf blew off her neck. She angrily picked it up and wrapped it back around her neck tightly. As she walked down a couple blocks she noticed that she wasn’t seeing the normal dog walkers or people on their porches reading the daily news. But as she entered the town square she noticed that there was an old woman sitting on the bench outside of the store which used to be her father’s old doll and puppet shop but now was owned by a rich retired lawyer who had turned it into a liquor store. Cassey still had the keys to the shop and since she didn’t see Sally at the swings yet, she thought that it probably

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wouldn’t hurt to check in on it since a lot of the old dolls and puppets were in the storage. As she entered the shop a strong blast of wine smell hit her instantly. She plugged her nose and walked through half of the shop until a glass fell towards her. She braced for the large crushing sound but when she opened her eyes her jaw dropped. The glass wine bottle had landed perfectly on the rickety wooden floor.

Chapter Two Cassey just stood there in shock for the next couple minutes until she blinked her eyes back into reality. She quietly placed the bottle neatly on the shelf. As she walked even further into the shop she heard stomping steps coming from downstairs. She looked at the stairs and saw a large shadow creeping loudly down the stairs. And though she didn’t see anyone, she bolted straight out of the shop locking the door behind her. As she gasped for breath she looked closely at the playground. It was completely abandoned. She sighed. Maybe Sally had forgotten? Or maybe she had slept in? After all, it wasn’t like 6:00 AM on a Saturday was the perfect time anyway. But just as she was about to take one step further a coldhand touched her shoulder.

“I don’t think you’re going anywhere.”

December 2022 141