"The Scarf", by Sasha
Copyright © 1998, Age 20
'I should've got out earlier,' thought Samantha. 'The kids will be home soon.'
It was Friday. The weather was hot and Samantha had to get home fast. She was thinking about what to do for lunch. She had to think of something that could be prepared fast so that lunch would be ready when the kids arrive home. She hated it, worrying about food every day. Since the death of her mother, her father never came back home. She was the eldest and was responsible for taking care of her brother and the twins. That responsibility included getting out of school as early as possible to fix lunch for the kids before they got back from school.
Arriving home, Samantha went straight to the freezer, took out some fishfingers and started frying them. A few minutes later, the house was full of noise. The twins were quarreling, as usual, and Danny was trying to stop them.
" Now what?" cried Samantha, walking towards them. "Katie doesn't want to give me my pen," cried one of the twins. " Katie," said Samantha. " Where is Karen's pen?" "I don't have it!" cried Katie. "Give it back or there will be no lunch for you today." "Oh, alright. What's for lunch, anyway?" "Fishfingers." "AGAIN!" cried the kids.
"Are you going to the cemetery tomorrow?" Karen asked Samantha who was putting her in bed. It was eight p.m. The weather got a little chilly. "Aha," replied Samantha. "Can we go?" asked Danny.
"No," said Samantha. " You know it's not a very nice place to go to." "But that's not fair," argued Katie. " We want to go too." "I'll take you there one day, I promise." Turning off the light, Samantha went to her room. She had visited her mother's grave every Saturday since her death. The kids always wanted to go with her, but she didn't want to bring back to them the sadness of losing their mother.
After doing some of her homework and reading a book, she went to bed. It was a quiet night and she was so tired that she was in a deep sleep very quickly. In the middle of the night, Samantha thought she heard some noise. Maybe she was dreaming, but when she opened her eyes the noise was still there. It sounded like crashing. It was coming from the hall. She started to worry and her heart was beating fast. She got out of her bed and went to the hall to see what was going on. Once she got out of her room she noticed a strong light coming out of the hall closet. The crashing sound came from there. She froze in her place for some moments trying to control her fear.
Slowly, with an audible heartbeat, Samantha started to walk towards the closet to see what was happening. She jumped as she heard a loud scream coming from the kids' room. She ran to them. Opening the room's door, breathless, she cried "What is it?" She saw Karen crying.
"Danny scared me," sobbed Karen. "Danny!" cried Samantha. "I don't know anything about it, I swear," cried Danny. "I think I was sleepwalking or something!" "Ok, that's enough," said Samantha, "Everybody back to sleep and no more funny business." Closing the door, Samantha noticed that the hall closet was normal. Maybe she was sleepwalking as well!!
Saturday was a fine day. The weather was so lovely. Samantha remembered the scarf her mother had given her on her twelfth birthday. She loved that scarf. She wore it every time she visited her mother's grave. It was time to get going. She had to get back home before dark. Smiling at her memory, Samantha went to the hall closet. Once she opened it, her smile disappeared. The scarf! It's gone! It can't be. It's always there. She was searching for it anxiously when she heard the kids shouting. It's got to be them. She wasn't surprised to see Katie wearing the scarf and running here and there. "Katie, what are you doing with that?" Asked Samantha. "We're playing (princess)," answered Katie. "Give it to me," said Samantha, "I have to go to the cemetery now."
The cemetery was quiet. It had always been so. Putting a flower next to the head stone, Samantha sat beside the grave. "Dear old mom," she whispered. "How much I miss you." She couldn't help the tears coming down her cheeks.
The following Saturday was cooler than usual. 'The weather is really unpredictable,' thought Samantha, walking to the hall closet. When she opened it, she let out a deep sigh. The scarf was gone again. Those kids... "Hey double K," Samantha said to the twins who were watching TV," I want my scarf back." " It's in the closet," said Katie. "No it's not," said Samantha," come on. Give it back to me. I don't have time for games." "We don't have it!" said Karen. "Are you sure?" asked Samantha. "Yes!" replied the twins. Samantha asked Danny, who was reading a comic, about the scarf. He didn't know anything about it. It was getting late. There was no time to search for it. So, she decided to forget about it this time.
Samantha walked to the cemetery, feeling the cool breeze playing with her curls. Once she got there, she stood in her place, looking around. The same scenery. It never changes. No… there was something weird… on her mother's grave… there was something moving. What could it be? Baffled, she started to walk to the grave slowly. Approaching it, Samantha opened her mouth with surprise. THE SCARF! How on earth did it get there?! She sat beside the grave and took the scarf in her hands. She was trying to figure out what had brought it here. But not before long, she started to hear some strange voices murmuring things she couldn't understand. They were coming from the grave. At that moment she remembered the closet... her heart started to pound... the lights... she could hear her heart beating inside her... the crashing... it was getting hot... the scarf was in there... sweating... no, it was a dream. What if it wasn't?
Suddenly, the sky started to get dark and the grave was shaking. Smoke was rising up from it. A strange figure came out of the smoke. A figure of a lady with a totally burned face and thin white hair thrown over it. Samantha was paralyzed with fear. She tried to crawl back, but she hardly moved. The figure was approaching her. It kept repeating in a creepy voice " I WANT... I WANT..." Crawling back, Samantha said in a shaking voice "Wha... what... do you want from me..." "I WANT... I WANT... I WANT TO..." Suddenly, with a loud roar, everything went dark.
A few moments later, the grave... the cemetery was normal. Quiet. Like nothing had happened.
Samantha was there… on the ground… lying on her back. Her mouth open, her eyes wide, staring at the sky without a single movement...
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