Ghost Story: Grace

Grace was born in 1897, she lived on a farm with her Father, Mother, and sister Lily. Her favorite color was the purple of a crocus, blooming in the Spring. How do I know these things? She told me. Grace's family grew cotton. In fact, our house is built on what used to be one of their cotton fields. I can see the old farmhouse from my window. It's still there, a big yellow house with a wrap-around porch.

I found Grace's grave in the woods a few years ago. The stone had fallen over, and I could barely read the crude letters carved into it's surface. I began to visit her grave everyday, I would sometimes find myself going there without realizing it. It became natural to me. Sometimes I would feel a presence, but then look up to find myself alone.

One day, I heard a voice, and when I turned, I saw her. She walked toward me smiling, "Lily!" she said, "I've missed you". I felt myself drawn to her, though I could not make myself move. She walked closer to me and frowned slightly. "You aren't Lily, are you?" she said. I shook my head, "No, I'm Anna". She started to turn, but I reached out. She stopped and looked into my eyes. "Why do you come here?" she said. "Because of the grave" I replied quietly. A puzzled look crossed her face, "What grave?" She asked. "The one right here" I said, pointing to the old stone. "There's no grave here, she said "This is our orchard". We stood silent for many minutes. I took a deep breath and asked her "Who is Lily?". "She is my sister" said Grace, "but I haven't seen her in a long time. She used to come and visit me here, just like you".

After that, I began to visit with Grace everyday. She would always be there, waiting for me. She would tell me about Lily, the barn kittens, how much she hated to pick cotton, everything. My parents began to notice that I became distracted often, the more time that I spent with Grace, the more that I became a part of her world and the less I became of my own. Today, Grace asked me to come with her, to stay with her always. She reached out to me, and for the first time, I touched her. I took her hand, and together we walked toward the old farmhouse, I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, that the landscape around me was changing. I turned my head and saw that my house was no longer there, just a field of blooming cotton. As we came near the house, a man and woman stepped out onto the porch. "Lily" said the woman "where have you been, we've been so worried". "Mama, Papa" I said as I ran and hugged them. For some reason, I could not remember where I had been, but I knew that I was at home now.