I could feel the chilly wind wrap around me as I anxiously walked out the back door. Behind me, I could hear the giggling of my cousins and sisters following me. In our sandals, we walked through the dark backyard of my grandmother’s house to the giant tree and huddled in a circle. “One, two, three, not it!” I yelled. “Not it, not it, not it, not it!” each one of the girls screamed after me. My little sister Sara was the last one to yell it; she was the ghost.
Sometimes, after our family dinner at my grandmother’s house, we play in the basement or play hide and seek, but playing Ghost in the Graveyard is our absolute favorite. In the nighttime, when its pitch black, my cousins, sisters, and I run outside to play Ghost in the Graveyard.
Still huddled, we waited for Sara to run and hide as we sang the song. “One o’clock, two o’clock, three o’clock ROCK! Four o’clock, five o’clock, six o’clock ROCK! Seven o’clock, eight o’clock, nine o’clock ROCK! Ten o’clock, eleven o’clock, twelve o’clock, MIDNIGHT!” As we shouted “midnight”, we all parted in our different directions, sprinting around the house. Trying to be as calm and quiet as I could, I took off.
Around me, I heard leaves rustling and tree branches snapping. I could feel my feet pounding against the grass. I sprinted as quickly as I could, trying to get to the safe spot on the porch in the front of the house. Before I knew it, Sara jumped out of the bush in attempt to tag me! I shouted, “Ghost!” and I started racing in the other direction.
I was breathing hard and was dashing as fast as I possibly could while my sister was chasing me. It was as if she was the lion and I was the zebra. As I turned the corner, I tripped over a branch and tumbled into the grass. Sara then tripped over me and we both began laughing hysterically. Rolling around on the ground, we giggled uncontrollably. After a few moments, I realized that now I too was a ghost.

Helping each other up, we decided that we were set to keep playing. Sara looked at me and whispered, “You ready?” And with that, we took off, turning all of the players into ghosts.