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 The Quay Ghostby Shalini Paneerchelvam Page 1 of 4
It was a dark, cold night. The icy wind blew sheets of freezing rain inland from the sea. Not a living thing could be seen on the streets of the small seaside town. Even the stray dogs and cats that wandered the streets at night had found shelter from the rain. Everything was still and quiet, and the only sound to be heard was the sound of the pouring rain. In the still darkness, something crept out of the shadows of the old abandoned warehouse on the quay. It was a girl. She was dressed in a raincoat and slacks. Her waterproof hat was pulled down low over her forehead. She didn' t seem to mind the rain or the coldness. She looked around, and then disappeared back into the shadows. When she came out again, she was dragging a small wooden boat. She dragged it onto the beach and waded out into the water with it. When she was knee deep in the icy waters of the ocean, she climbed into the boat and pushed off with the oar. Then, she started rowing out to sea. Unknown to the girl, her boat had a leak in it. She was too busy rowing to realize that the boat had started filling with water. When she was finally aware of the danger, it was too late. She was too far out for anyone to hear her cries for help, and the water was too cold for her to swim back to shore. The boat sank. The next morning, the girl's body was found washed up on the beach. * * * 10 years later.... The school bell at the local high school had just gone off. It was the last day of school, and students came pouring out of the front doors of the main building. Most of them were cheering and laughing as they walked towards the buses or cars that were waiting for them outside the school. A serious looking girl came out with the crowd, scanned the waiting cars, then walked to the school gates and stood there. "Hey Andrea, have you thought about it?" A grinning boy walked up to her and stood in front of her. "Thought about what, David?" "You know perfectly well what I am talking about." Andrea jabbed David on the chest with her finger and said, "You know what I think about it. It's too dangerous. And it's a stupid thing to do. Besides, Mum would never let me go out at night. You know her." "Come on Andrea, you seriously don't believe that trash, do you? About the ghost and all." David shook his head. "I don't know what to believe, David. People have seen the girl's ghost before. They say that she committed suicide by jumping off the quay and her body got washed on the shore the next morning. Then the body disappeared from the morgue. And..." "I know the story," David interrupted, "every year on the anniversary of her death she haunts the quay to grab and drown any fool she can find. That's why we need to go out tonight. To prove it to everyone that there is no ghost." * * * Andrea waited resentfully under the solitary light on the quay that night, muttering to herself. Just like David to force her to do something, and be late for it himself. Why she even bothered, she didn't know. She'd had to sneak out, and if her mum found out, there was no telling what would happen. A painful death would be putting it mildly. The quay light flickered, then went out. Everything was plunged into darkness. Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2001 Shalini Paneerchelvam, sffworld.com. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the author. The author has submitted the work in accordance with and in agreement with the following Submission Guidelines. |
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