Lost Souls

It was Friday. I just got back from a party at some rich kid's house. I did not want to go, though. Emma dragged me along like she always does. She dragged me to parties, reunions, and even family outings. I am pretty sure her family was sick of me. I don't blame them though, I am kind of a burden. I figured out, when I was seven, that I was born with a strange ability, I could see ghosts. Not only could I see them, I could interact with them. I have helped many ghosts in the past, though not knowing they were ghosts at the time. I finally got home completely exhausted. As soon as I locked the door to my small apartment I changed into my black cat pajamas, laid down on the carpet, and turned on the TV.

As I lay down on the carpet, I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I looked to see what it was, but then it vanished. It was one of them again, the lost souls that never found their way to heaven. The ones that are stuck here to reminisce about their mistakes and regrets. For all those with no way to escape, I am there. I stood up to see what it was, and at the end of the hallway, there stood a child. She was about three or four. She was covered head to toe with scars and bruises. The little girl was muttering to herself. “What did I do wrong,” she repeated over and over again to herself while she crouched in the corner of the hallway. “Hey, it’s ok,” I told her as I crept closer. She looked back quickly, then vanished again. I heard a bump in an upstairs room. I ran up the stairs, down the other hallway, and into my bedroom.

As I stood in the doorway, I saw, in full color, what happened to the little girl. She was being held by her arm and beaten ruthlessly. The vision disappeared, and I saw the little girl again. “No. Stop. What did I do,” she kept repeating to herself. The lights flickered, and through the darkness, she moved. She appeared before me with blood pouring from her eyes like tears. She then let out a scream of pure agony. I jumped back, and her body began to break. Her arms turned mangled, almost broken in half. Her legs fell off, and as they hit the ground, her legs started to deteriorate. Her neck made a painful-sounding crack, and her bone was visible inside the skin. This encounter was the first time I’ve seen anything like this. I was sitting against the wall when the girl’s disfigured body started toward me slowly.

I backed into the wall as far as I could. Then the girl’s ghost went through me. Tears streamed down my face. I felt scared, alone, and unwanted. I looked at my arms, and I saw bruises everywhere. I started feeling an unimaginable pain in my chest. I was suffocating. I looked up and saw the girl holding a rope around my neck. She took me to the rail for the stairs and hung me. I felt my life fading away slowly. As I drew my last breath, I woke up on the ground in my living room. It was a dream.