The Weeping Ghost | Teen Ink

The Weeping Ghost

August 31, 2011
By angelchild GOLD, Stockton, California
angelchild GOLD, Stockton, California
12 articles 0 photos 11 comments

Favorite Quote:
Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.
- Frederick Douglass,

A library is infinity under a roof.
- Gail Carson Levine
O, there is lovely to feel a book, a good book, firm in the hand, for its fatness holds rich promise, and you are hot inside to think of good hours to come.


- Richard Llewellyn


Our ship crashed, we needed food, so we moved to another island, and now our lives are at stake!
My name is Jade Fisher. I am 17 years old and I was born on June 20, 1969. We are survivors from a cruise ship called ‘Bon Voyage’, which crashed about twenty-eight years ago. Out of the three hundred men, women, and children on the cruise ship, seventy have died from injuries, disease, and un-natural causes. The survivors have long given up hope of us ever being rescued. The island that the cruise ship crashed on didn’t have a stable amount of food anymore, so we had to send a search party to look for a new island before we starved to death. A few people from the search party returned, claiming that they had found an island with plenty of food, and fresh streams to drink from. Our village started packing for the long journey and made more canoes from some of the trees. It took us a day or two to reach the island. Once we did we immediately made lean-to huts for everyone. On the shore a boulder had an inscription on it, and it read “Beware! Cursed is whoever steps foot on this island with murderers in their mist and they shall be cursed! You will never leave alive!” Few people were disturbed by this, many had heard of this trick before. They thought that they were too smart to be fooled. After a few days someone attempted to go fishing, he was never seen or heard from again……
This island is dangerous, people have been disappearing left and right, now people are worried, is this island cursed? Nine people have disappeared so far, all during fishing trips. Yesterday somebody tried to leave the island, all but the boat, covered with ashes and bones returned.
A few men are considering attempting to leave the island, but I hope that they don’t, it seems too dangerous to attempt. Today the sky is bright and clear, the perfect day for anything to happen. I truly believe that there is no way to ever get off this island. I am extremely worried, was it something we did, or is it all my fault that this is happening?


Oh no! I heard screams in the distance. I started to run, worried; when I got there I look around, searching for the person who had screamed or perhaps the cause of it. A big crowd had formed around the boat dock. “What happened?” I asked, but nobody replied. Is something wrong? I wondered. I quickly scan the horizon searching for a boat I hoped wasn’t there. Finally I sighted the boat; their stood my father with two other men! He seemed to be conversing with them, I didn’t realize at first who, or what they were. But as I studied them better, horror spread across my face. As I looked on the horror intensified because it was John, the recently dead town crier! The other person was the man who used to watch over our supplies on the other island! Oh no! I thought. As I looked over to where they were I realized with sudden horror that they were floating above the water! Their deaths had been sudden, with foul play written all over their blood. My mother who is potted in the crowd quickly hurried to my side. “While you were gone another attempt was made to leave this dreadful island. Your father convinced a small group of people to board the boat with him. Then they sailed away. Those two ghosts appeared with swords and killed the passengers on board, all except for your father.”
The two ghosts started speaking in unison, apparently to the crowd “You shall never leave this island alive, unless you follow our commands!” The voices bellowed. “One of your people murdered both of us a month ago. The murderer must confess and pay for their crimes, or your whole tribe will suffer the consequences!” Everyone stood agape at the horrifying news. “We give you one day! When the day is up, a curse will befall everyone and people will start dying!” John then lashed out with his sword towards my father.
I could hardly believe what had happened. My father had died right in front of me, murdered by a ghost no less. Plus, a death sentence now hung over every villager. Realization slowly hit me, as it did the tears started rolling down my cheeks. The tears were going terribly fast now, too fast for my liking but they didn’t want to stop. “What will they do?” I wondered to myself self consciously. I suddenly started running, not knowing where. I started drifting farther and farther away from the village. I heard screams and realized that the sound came not from the village but from my own lips. I ran still further until I tripped on a loose stone. Moving would have been immensely painful for me, so I stayed until I fell into a worried and troublesome sleep.
I awoke to forest scenery around me. The forest landscape about me was unfamiliar and I started to worry. “Where am I?” I questioned myself. I slowly got to my feet, thinking about my flight from the village. I could not remember for the life of me where I had run to. I now remembered that I had a dream telling myself what to do. I now remembered how to get back to the village. I sadly started running towards civilization before it was too late. Somehow I reached the village quickly, but I wished that my return had not been quickened. What I found there horrified my every limb.
The population had probably dwindled to about less than half the original population. Bodies lay strewn about everywhere; some seemed to have been trampled to death, others appeared to have been stabbed. One caught my eye, it was my mother. Next to her was something she had written out in her blood “May God save us” I tried not to look at her as tears welled up in my eyes. I quickly hurried to the house of elders, trying to not look back. Once I reached it I hurried inside, there was about five of the original seven elders left. I briefly explained what I was about to do tear flowing forth upon my confessions of guilt. Some nodded their heads, not wanting to interrupt, fearing to drive me away with questions. They helped me to gather up most of the survivors of the near apocalyptic events. Silently I dragged myself into the nearest boat. One of the elders chose to speak to the crowd first. “Please be quiet and listen for what you are about to hear is very important.” From the boat I addressed the crowd “I had a depressing dream about a past event that has lead me to believe that all that has transpired in the last few days is entirely my fault.”
The crowd was frozen with shock at what they had just heard. As they regained their ability to converse, rumors started spreading like wildfire throughout the listeners. “Please!” I continued, trying to speak louder than the gossipers. “Please let me finish!” I cleared my throat knowing that I had dreaded this moment forever, I knew that the truth would come out someday. “I had a dream reminding myself of my past mistakes, it was a major mistake when I did it but now it seems even worse because of the people who have died because of what I did. You can never imagine how hard this is for me to confess the worse worst crime imaginable to all of you.” The boat suddenly moved forward by an unseen force, pulling it towards where the ghosts had appeared. The boat reached its destination and stopped suddenly. At the halt of the craft I nearly fell off the boat, but I managed to sit down instead. The two ghosts approached from the mist that had suddenly appeared, “Welcome Jade! I see you have come!” they chanted in unison. “Confess your crime so that everyone may know what the fussing is all about.” My voice hoarse I uttered: “Thievery and murder.” Everyone gasped! I shrank lower into the boat not wanting to continue. I wish now more and more that they had never opened their dumb dead mouths. “Please, now tell your account of that wretched day.” They encouraged me, sharply.
“It started all on the other island. I was weak with starvation and I would do anything for food. The food was scarce and temptation proved too much for my weak stomach. It was a pitch black night, but I dared not light a candle for fear that someone might see it, but I brought a knife just in case. Halfway there I realized somebody was following me, but my stomach over ruled my common sense. I hoped to lose my shadow companion in the darkness. As I reached the supply room I easily overtook the guard, quickly silencing him with my knife.” I could barely manage to go on, but I did. “I opened the door and hurriedly started rummaging until I found the supply of food. Once I did I started gorging my mouth with food, horrified at what I had done for food. I was so content in gorging myself I did not realize that someone stood in the door watching me, ready to attack. It all went too fast for me but once it was over I had a dead body lying next to me, and blood on my hands. I had killed John, who was not only a friend to me, but also the town crier. I was horrified at the animosity of myself, and fled from the storage room, not want to be found among dead bodies. I finally made it to the river and washed the blood from my hands. My clothes were soaked in blood, so I ran into my room and changed into blood-free clothing. I dealt away with the blood-stained clothing by throwing them into the mucky river, making sure most of the blood was out of them. I then hurried into bed, having a wretched, sleepless night.” The story made me burst into renewed my tears for my stupidity.
“I will lift the curse because of your bravery, Jade. You still must be punished, and the punishment for these crimes is worse than death itself.” I closed my eyes as he lifted his sword. He lashed out, making my body feel the most pain that it has ever felt in its life. I opened my eyes and look at myself, I was still there but I knew that I had died. “You shall be a spirit for a thousand and fifty years, roaming the sea, helping those less fortunate than yourself. You shall also never be able to rest.” I started weeping as I floated out to sea, searching for lost ships and souls in need of my help.
THE END, OR IS IT?!?!?!?


The author's comments:
This piece I wrote as a short story for my english class.

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