The Ghost

The luminous moonlight emitted an eerie glow in my otherwise darkened bedroom, as the crows’ midnight commotion diminished into the darkness. The antique grandfather clock, isolated in the unused corner of our study, struck twelve, sending the passel of possums on our roof fleeing in fright.

My eyes immediately flickered open, gradually adjusting to the labyrinth of darkness. In a haze, I rolled over, trying to get back to sleep, but, suddenly, the creaking sound of my bedroom door opening interrupted me. A skeletal, transparent hand snaked through the crack, prying the mahogany door even further, therefore revealing the owner of the body part.

I scrambled under my covers, chanting the four words that ignited a spark of courage in me: “This is a nightmare,” repeatedly. When I was finally brave enough to peek out from under the doona, there it was. A close-up of the ‘phantom.’ The apparition hovered above me, refusing to move a muscle as it stared at me, with a menacing smile on its grotesque countenance baring its monstrous yellow crooked teeth. Even the world’s staring competition champion would fall into the jaws of defeat if they challenged this ghost.

It wore a white, dishevelled top with deep crimson bloodstains splattered all across it, with threads of old, worn-out polyester hanging from the sides. It floated towards my petrified body, horror, and shock plastered on my face. Just before the apparition overpowered me and I blacked out, I managed to let out a shriek that echoed throughout the lonely night before darkness filled my eyes.
 

I woke up frightened finding myself chained to a cold rusty metal gate, my body was exhausted like I just ran 1,000 metres. Swollen and gruesome bruises lay on my leg, now turning deep purple. “Where was I?” I repeated to myself. Something chilly floated past me “The ghost? A chilly night breeze? The possibilities are endless!” I mumbled to myself. “Maybe you should just fall into a deep sleep and never wake up” A screechy girl’s voice whispered into my ear, I turned around and saw my sister?! “You’re dead. No, this is all a lie!” I yelled at the pale, wispy girl crouching next to me.
 

Then before I knew it, I was standing at the edge of a cliff next to my sister. I stood next to her, unable to think or say anything. “You know you want to be with me, brother” She whispered in a harsh, empty tone, “So come with me.” I jumped. The waves punched me I could feel the life leaving my body filling my lungs with cold seawater. But I did not care, for I wanted to be with my dear sister. As everything faded away, I arose from the water, now a spirit. I thought we could now finally be reunited, but no. Next to her was an old shrivelled woman. “Well done, dear,” She croaked, “A soul for a soul” And with that, she disappeared with my sister.
 

At that moment I realised she was never dead. Just simply possessed.