Written by
Khaif Hossain
6th grade, Samoset Middle School
It was 1987.
1:15 pm
I boarded the train to go back to my hometown in Virginia. I worked in New York to earn money for my mother back home. I had not returned home in 1 year and couldn’t get a fresh breath of the countryside. The city was populated and dirty. I also wanted to taste my mom’s cooking.
4:37 pm
As the train was going along the tracks, I looked out the window. Under the sun, the lake water was sparkling like jewels. The plains and green valleys in every direction refreshed my mind. I was so mesmerized watching the natural scenery that I only noticed the ticket inspector when he called me out. I got in such a hurry to get the ticket that I forgot to close my suitcase properly.
11:56 pm
When everybody started leaving the train, I stood up with my suitcase and everything spilled on the floor. I started picking things up and when I finally picked everything up, no one was on the train anymore. I was the last person to leave. Once I left, I took a taxi but it stopped in front of a road. As there was a construction sign, the taxi couldn’t drive on. So, I had to walk one and a half miles to reach my home.
1:11 am
I was walking home in the dark. Then I saw the graveyard. I kept remembering all the ghost stories I heard from when I was a kid. I was walking and it felt like someone was watching me. I heard footsteps behind me as if someone was following me in the dark. I started shivering in an unknown fear and my muscles turned to ice. Still, I gathered up all my courage and slowly turned around. My instinct was right. There was a person behind me. But I was relieved to see a familiar face. It was my friend from when I was a kid. We started laughing and talking. We had not seen each other for a while now. So, we had a lot to catch up. We shared nostalgic stories from the past and how we were an inseparable duo in school. With his company, the long walk did not seem that long after all. When I finally reached my house, I asked him to come in and stay the night, but he didn’t. So, we said goodbye to each other.
3:23 am
I got home and my mom came and hugged me, and we talked about what happened in New York. Then she asked me how I got home in the dark. I said my friend helped me. She looked confused, ‘‘But your friend died a month ago from a car accident’’. I got chills down my spine. I felt scared and sad at the same time. I stayed there for a week, and I didn’t go out much.
4:53 am
I got on the early morning train to go back to New York. When the train started leaving, behind the trees I saw my friend standing there. He looked decomposed and he was smiling at me.