The dogs were barking, and the branches were hitting each other on trees because of the wind.  I was walking home from my best friend Karla’s house; we are neighbors in the country.  It was getting dark, I was all alone, and was starting to get scared. Then I started to hear a noise, and it was coming from the cornfield. The noise sounded as if it was leather slapping something.

I followed the noise. By this time, I was already in the cornfield. I kept following the noise, and then all of sudden it stopped once I came upon a scarecrow. His eyes were small and black with a lot of darkness. His face looked rusted and old. I went to touch it; it felt very hard and stiff, but when I looked at my fingers, they were black. It looked as if I touched ash. I stared at it for a while, and then I realized it was getting late, and I ran home. Right away I told my mom what I’d seen, and she said that I was crazy. When I went to bed, that’s all I could think about. Why did that noise stop once I got to the scarecrow? It was freaking me out.

The next morning, when I was walking to my bus stop, I couldn’t help but stare at the cornfield. Later that evening, me and Karla were doing our homework at her house. We were talking, laughing, and having a good time. I started thinking about the scarecrow, and asked Karla if she wanted to go for a walk with me. She said yes, but had a weird look on her face because it was already dark outside. I never told her about what I saw yesterday, so I thought I’d show her instead.

We started walking and Karla kept asking me twenty-one questions on what we were doing. I told her it was a surprise. I know I was scared last night, but I know she will be even more scared than me. She doesn’t like my adventures, she drives me insane sometimes, but that is why we’re best friends right? Anyway, as we were walking, I started to hear that noise again. Karla heard it too. She grabbed my hand; her hand was real cold, and shaking. She looked as if she wanted to cry. Next thing we know, we saw something dark and it past us fast, like wind. It was dark outside, but what we saw was darker than the sky, kind of like a shadow in the daylight. Then we heard an evil voice whisper “Karla” very slow. Karla looked me in the eyes, she screamed and ran home. I was scared too, but I stood there to hear if it would say my name, or anything else would happen.

Nothing happened and I was shaking so I ran home, and called Karla, but she didn’t answer. She ignored me that whole night.

            The next morning I tried talking to Karla at school, but she kept ignoring me. She didn’t want anything to do with me, and everyone around her kept looking at me as if I were crazy. People would talk about me every time I would walk by. I just didn’t get it. I ignored it.

Later that night, I went back to the scarecrow. This time I was all by myself. I looked at the scarecrow, and I screamed “Say something!” and once again I heard the evil voice say “Karla” slowly but it didn’t seem like it was coming from the scarecrow. The first time I thought it was from the scarecrow because of the leather slapping noise.

The noise started again.

I walked past the scarecrow and more into the cornfield. I looked over and I noticed something flapping on a water irrigation system that was for the cornfield, so I went up to it and there was leather wrapped around it. That was the noise I was hearing, but it had me wondering why it was there? When I went to go touch the leather that was wrapped on the water irrigation system, something tapped my shoulder, and when I turned around nothing was there and the noise stopped. I started to walk away and I didn’t know what to feel or think at the moment.

When I got home is when I started freaking out. I had all these questions and I was getting no answers. I started asking myself if Karla knew someone who had passed near that field. I called Karla ten times and she kept ignoring me.

The next morning I walked out of my house to start my everyday walk to the bus stop. I noticed a blue paper hanging out of my mailbox so I grabbed it and the note said “Meet me at the cornfield tonight at 9:30,” and I assumed it was from Karla because who else would it be from?

That night my mom wouldn’t let me leave the house so me using my smart mind, I decided to sneak out. At about 9:20 I snuck out of the house and started walking to the cornfield, but there was no Karla.

I looked over and there was a little boy facing the scarecrow. I could only see the side of him from where I was standing, and his eyes were big, like they were popping out of his head. His eyes focused on the crooked smile on the scarecrow. I didn’t say anything; quietly and slowly, I walked towards him. He turned towards me fast. It was almost unreal how fast he turned around. His skin was very pale, his eyes were black and he was wearing cowboy boots with a white t-shirt and blue overalls. I noticed his overalls looked black; it looked like they were burnt. He had a black mark on his cheek too. He looked confused and scared, as if he had gotten into trouble by his mom. I was confused myself, thinking why is this little boy out here by himself? There was no way he could have been older than six-years old.

With his big, black eyes he stared at me and asked in a quiet voice “You can see me?”

I laughed, “Of course I can see you. I can see everybody.”

“Where is Karla?” he asked slowly.

I looked at him crazy, “How do you know Karla? That’s my best friend. I don’t know but I got a note this morning and it told me to be here at 9:30. I know it was from Karla, I’m waiting for her to get her butt over here. What are you doing here kid?”

“Uh, waiting here for Karla too.” There was a scared look on his face.

“You got a name?” I said.

“My name is Ryan  ... I feel like I shouldn’t be talking to you.”

“Why not? I don’t bite.” I said with a smile.

“I just shouldn’t be talking to you. You’re a stranger!” he sounded as if he wasn’t telling me something, like he knew something that I didn’t know.

“Okay, I understand.” I turned my head around because I felt somebody coming my way, and only for a second, I turned my head back and the boy was gone. Just like that, no sound or nothing.

I knew I wasn’t tripping out and somebody was coming my way. It was Karla. I was so excited to see her and hug her, yet so confused as to why she’s been ignoring me. The boy Ryan that I had met made my stomach feel all weird inside. I had so many questions to ask.

I ran up to her, gave her a big hug and asked “Karla, how are you!?”

She wasn’t hugging me back. She felt stiff and cold.

I looked her in the eyes and said “Karla? Are you okay?”

“I can’t hang out with you anymore.” She said with a stuttering, quiet voice.

“What do you mean Karla? I’m your best friend  ...”

It didn’t sound like her at all.

“There are some things you don’t know about me. You need to stay away from me right now, for your safety. That’s why I wanted you to come today so I can warn you.”

Her voice sounded low, her words were coming out slow. It was almost as if there was a completely different person inside of her.

“Karla, what is going on? You are really starting to scare me!” I yelled.

Next thing I know there was a big BOOM. I turned my head and I didn’t see anything. I looked at my hands and they were starting to shake.

And there was that evil voice again … “KAAARRRRLAA!”

I had no idea where the evil voice was coming from, but it sounded close to me.

I noticed the little boy hiding behind one of the corn stems, he looked frightened so I ran over there to comfort him but by the time I got over there, he was gone.

I looked over at Karla and she looked so stiff like she couldn’t move. It frightened me because two unknown voices were saying her name and she was standing there like nothing was even going on.

I walked towards her slowly.

She stood there, her eyes big, her skin pale and she pointed to the sky. I looked up and saw nothing. I touched her hand to try and get her attention, but it was like if she were in another world or sleep walking.

I got to the point where I wanted to scream because I wanted answers to all of my questions! 

As I ran over towards her, it started getting windy. It looked so nasty out and I stood there shaking because I didn’t know what was coming next. In a blink of an eye the wind stopped and Karla turned her head to look at me. She smiled and said “Thank you for coming, I haven’t   seen you in a while and I just wanted to get away from the house and see how you were doing.”

My mouth dropped …

“Karla, are you okay? Do you not know what happened right now?” I said.

“What do you mean? I got here.” Karla said confused.

I felt so weird and confused that I was scared to tell Karla what had happened. So I stayed quiet and I said... “It was nice seeing you Karla, but I think it’s time for me to get home.”

“Okay, see you soon right?” Karla said hugging me.

“Right.” I said.

Walking home I decided to walk by Karla’s house to see if see anything or anyone that was unusual. I walked by and I saw that little kid Ryan, he was behind a tree and I asked “Are you okay?” he looked up frightened and said “Yes, I’m fine now please go away!”

“Can I ask you something Ryan before I go home?”

“What is it?” Ryan said with a soft voice.

“Is there something that I need to know about Karla or you or anything that went on tonight because I am scared, beyond scared, and I don’t know what to do!?”  I said angrily.

“Everything is okay …” as he was saying this he was slowly disappearing. That’s when I knew right there that he was a ghost.

My mind had me thinking that I was crazy. I ran home and went straight to my room. I cried and I cried my eyes out. I felt so lost. I was sitting on my bed thinking about every little detail of what happened tonight. I didn’t know whether or not I should tell my mom because I know my mom wouldn’t believe me, and nobody would believe me, so there was no point in telling anybody.

The next morning I didn’t feel like going to school, I told my mom I wanted to stay home and that I felt sick and she let me. My mom had to go to work but she trusted me enough to stay home by myself.

That afternoon I was still lying in my bed, I hadn’t been thinking about the situation and the next thing I knew I heard the doorbell ring. I ran to our front window and looked to see who it was first before I opened the door. I didn’t see anybody so I opened the door and still nobody. Closed the door I went back inside, I went back to my room and I couldn’t believe who I saw sitting on my bed … Ryan …

            “Everything okay Ryan?”

            “You know my secret” he said.

            “What are you talking about?”

“You can’t tell anybody, because if you do something bad will happen to you.”

I walked to close my room door and when I went to turn around and go sit on my bed to talk with Ryan, he was gone. I had blank face, I didn’t know what to think or ask to anyone anymore. I felt so lost.

Once school was out, I threw on my Ugg boots and walked to Karla’s house. I knocked on her window because that was what we always did. She opened it and I hopped in. I looked at her face and it was very pale and around her eyes it was really dark. Her hands looked all dried up. I was beyond concerned about my best friend and the person she was becoming. I didn’t know who she was anymore.

“Karla, be the person you were before please. I miss you and our friendship more and more each day. Things haven’t been the same!”

“There is really no way we can be friends anymore, for your safety. This will be the last time I will see you or talk to you. I am sorry.” Karla started to cry.

“I don’t understand Karla, please give me answers. I have been going insane trying to figure out what has been going on lately. I have broken down more than once crying because all of this scares me, and you know me, not much really scares me.” I said grabbing her hand.

“That’s what I mean you see … we need to stop talking for your safety. Please trust me.” She said with a slight grin.

“I am not leaving you until you tell me. You look horrible like something isn’t right and I need you to tell me. I need to be your best friend and be there for you. I am not leaving. I’m sorry, I am not and if I have to stay the night here I will call my mom and tell her and I will but I am not leaving.” I said starting to cry.

“I’m serious; quit asking me to tell you. I can’t. Do you want to die!? No, you don’t! Quit asking and go. I’m sorry, I love you but you need to leave.” Karla said angrily and crying at the same time.

“Nothing bad will happen to me Karla. I am not leaving. What are you talking about? I’m not going to die.” I said rubbing the tears from my face.

“GET OUT OF MY HOUSE NOW!” Karla screamed shoving me towards the window.

I looked at her and tears started rolling down my face. This isn’t like Karla. This isn’t like my best friend. I slowly hopped out of the window and started walking home.

Once I got into my bed. I told myself that I’m not going to go near Karla’s house anymore, or bother anyone about the situation. It was time that I should leave it alone. I knew it was going to be hard for me because Karla is my best friend in the whole wide world, but I’ve come to realize that nothing I do will help, and Karla isn’t the same person.

Two days later, I found out that Karla was in the hospital so I went to go visit her. I was so scared to go visit her because I knew I shouldn’t be around her, but I was worried because she still means something to me. Nobody could ever replace the friendship we had. Anyway, once I got to what room she was in, I stopped at the door. I was thinking to myself that I should probably back out. I was beyond scared, my hands started shaking. I didn’t know what to expect because I had no idea why she was even in the hospital. Finally, I knocked quietly three times. No answer. I slowly opened the door and peaked my head inside and all I saw was a long baby blue curtain, so I went for it. I walked in and I grabbed the curtain and put it aside then I saw her …

            Around her eyes were black but both of them were swollen; they looked ten times larger than how her eyes are naturally. She could barely open her eyes and she looked even paler than before. I noticed cuts on her left arm as well. She looked horrible, like she had gotten into a big car accident but worse. The smell of the room smelt like hair was burning. I’ve never seen someone look so damaged, and it broke my heart because I saw her two days ago and she didn’t look like this at all.

            I slowly walked towards her and grabbed her hand and said slowly and quietly …

            “I am so sorry Karla, what happened!?”

            She couldn’t open up her mouth to speak but her eyes were big, it was like if she were trying to tell me something with her eyes, but I didn’t understand what she was trying to tell me. I know that whatever she was trying to say she was panicked, like she was warning me about something. It was real dark in the room, I got kind of scared.

            I looked over at the windowsill and saw Ryan sitting there so I went to go talk to him. I asked him “Are you okay?” and he whispered “She deserved it.”

            “You know what happened? Why did she deserve it!?” I asked quietly.

            Quietly Ryan spoke “She broke the rules and watched me die in burning flames. I want the same to happen to her.” And then disappeared.

My heart dropped. “That’s how you passed away?”

            He then appeared right next to me and told me his story …

            “Two years ago, I was taking a bath playing with my toy wrestlers in the downstairs bathroom. My sister and I were home alone. Yes, Karla is my sister. She was upstairs in her room blasting her music and doing homework. I started to smell something burning. I got out of the bath and grabbed a towel, I put my hand on the door and it was super-hot, I wrapped the towel around my hand and opened the door and saw the house in flames. I screamed for Karla, no response. I’m a little boy, I didn’t know what to do at that moment so I tried to run to the front door of the house as fast I could, and then I saw Karla standing at the top of the stairs screaming, she ran back to what looked like her room. I was burning in the flames. Karla jumped out of her window and ran to the front of the house to try to open the front door and see if I was there. By this time I was gone and was watching over my body and Karla’s every move. My body was half way out of the door already and she pulled the rest of my body out, but it was too late. I have so much hate for her now because she let this happen to me. It’s time for me to get revenge.” He spoke slowly and soft.

            My mouth dropped. I didn’t know what to say to him after that because Karla is my best friend and I never knew any of this. I felt very hurt but very scared at the same time, even though she did not tell me any of this, I understand. It would kill me to see something very bad happen to her.

About a minute later of thinking I spoke, “Ryan, how can I help? You shouldn’t have all this hate inside of you, and move on with your life. Things like this happen and I’m sure Karla thinks about it every day and she’s hurting as well. Some people handle things differently. Did you do this to her Ryan? Please tell me what happened, I promise I can help you. Let me help. It shouldn’t have to end in a tragic way!”

            Ryan had a mad look on his face. “I don’t need your stupid help” and disappeared.

            I looked around; it was just me and Karla in the room. I started thinking to myself about what I could to do to make Karla safe. I couldn’t tell anyone because I’m sure I’m the only one who has the gift of seeing ghosts and people would think I was nuts! My hands started to sweat; I didn’t know what to do. I had that lost feeling inside of me again.

            I sat in the hospital for hours and still no thought of what I could do, and I didn’t want to leave the hospital because I didn’t want anything to happen to her. I knew I had to go home sooner or later. I went home, lying in my ed. The room was dark and quiet as a mouse. Then all of a sudden my window shattered. I screamed “MOMMM!” I lay up against the wall holding my blanket closely waiting for my mom to barge in, and as I was waiting I see Ryan outside my window, he then gave me a slight grin and disappeared. I started crying. My mom came in and I tried telling her what had happened but I didn’t mention Ryan’s name but she knew somebody broke the window. She let me sleep with her in her room, but I didn’t sleep. At about in the morning, I got out of my mom’s bed and had her take me to the hospital.

When I got into Karla’s hospital room, she was sound asleep and she looked fine, she actually looked better than before. I sat there for a little while, I wanted to talk to her but she couldn’t talk and well she was asleep. I was waiting for Ryan to show up, but he didn’t, so I felt sort of okay, but I felt something was going to happen and it wasn’t going to be pretty.

Later on, I went down to get an apple juice and came back to the room. When I came back Karla was awake. She looked like herself like there wasn’t another person inside of her. I told her that I loved her and she grabbed my hand and gave me a smile.

I got up to use the restroom and when I walked in, the ground felt all wet and slippery and it smelt like gas, so I grabbed a towel and started cleaning it, I didn’t think nothing of it. Next thing I know the bathroom door slammed shut and I heard it lock. All I could think was Ryan in my head. I screamed and started banging on the door! Then the flames started, I started burning and I could hear Ryan’s voice yell “I want the Karla to feel the pain that I felt, let her live with this forever!”

The firefighters came and knocked down the door and there my body was lying there burning. I was looking over watching everyone go into shock including my mother. I kissed her on the cheek and I know she felt it. I’ve realized that the only one who will be feeling pain is Ryan. I saw Karla and she was safe now, and that’s all that mattered to me. That will be my best friend forever and ever.