Did it have to turn out this way? Why did this have to happen to me, a normal thirteen-year-old girl? I’ll tell you a brief rundown of what happened, so listen up.
This strange situation probably started on a chilly afternoon in the dead of winter. I was riding my bike back home, as usual, when suddenly a spinning whirlwind cut in front of me. I deftly dodged and was relieved when the spinning object clanged against a pole, stopping it. It was once I got home that the abnormalities started to occur.
Mom called me for dinner even though I was right next to her watching her cook. Then, I heard footsteps coming from my room and saw… a body moving down the stairs. The body looked like me and acted like me, even down to the way that I walked, but clearly it was not me; I was right across from it. I tried in many vain attempts to get someone, anyone’s attention. After an hour of banter, I reluctantly accepted what happened to me. In conclusion, I am now a spirit of some kind.
For the first couple of days, it was fun. I would laze around doing nothing in particular, but as time passed, I became bored and would start taking strolls outside of the house. On one of these strolls, I encountered a very weird scene.
A couple of old men were standing right in front of a pharmacy and seemed to be in a heated debate. As I got closer, I could hear what they were so distraught about:
“You stupid fool! If you didn’t publicize such effective medicine then this issue wouldn’t exist!”
“Oh look who is talking! Who instigated Western medicine in the first place?”
“Ah, please stop arguing. We are all guilty of this result in one way or another.”
“...”
“Well, still, it is someone’s fault for the start of such a catastrophe.”
The whole argument would have started all over again if I hadn’t stepped in. Now, I regret being so noisy. Curious, I asked, “What happened?”
Once I asked such a question, all of the ghosts turned towards me. There was a period of great silence, then, as if a light bulb simultaneously lit up, they started barraging me with questions.
“How old are you?”
“How much do you know about medicine?”
“No, don’t mind his question. All you need to know about is the disease called ebola. Do you know about it?”
At that question, I faintly murmured a yes. What came next would be the worst thing to happen in my life.
“Great! I don’t know a thing about ebola, so I can’t be the one running around taking care of this problem!
“I am too old, my soul is creaky; I won’t be able to handle this sort of task!”
Such comments continued throughout the crowd, and once they made their statement, they quickly rushed away. Once everybody rushed out, I could see a dome-shaped barrier of sorts covering an area of about eleven square feet full of black. Yes, it was a dome filled with pitch-black night. Once all of the ghosts disappeared, an unnerving silence swept over the lot. Then there came a mysterious voice:
“Sigh, well you would have to do. For taking up this task, I will grant you the liberty of having one wish. With all sincerity, I wish you good luck.”
Once that was announced, the dome popped and the howling mass of darkness came swooping after me. I ran with all my might towards the town square in hopes of finding help. But as with my family, no one noticed me. I ran into the mountains, hoping the trees would slow the torrents, however, it was to no avail. After many days, exhaustion ran my soul ragged and frustrated. I used my one wish.
“I wish I could just return to my body!”
Surprisingly, I was sucked back into my body. Now I am lying in a hospital bed with nothing to do except patiently await my death.
“Just what is with this life!”
For Andria Yu, a freshman, this is the first time that she has tried to write a horror story. To her, this story is something that she tried out in her free time and she’s psyched to know that her attempt will be shared among her peers. She wishes to thank the Tartan Shield for giving her this opportunity.
