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THIRD PLACE
Maple's Revenge
by Kaitlyn E. Age 12
North AUgusta Middle School
It was January 11th, my birthday. I lay in bed and thought about what the plans were for the day. I looked out of the fogged up window and saw that it was snowing. I jumped out of bed and felt the cold, hard, wooden floor under my feet.
“Mom, are you up?” I yelled.
“Yes”, she said back and I hurried down the stairs. There, sitting on the couch, was the Alaskan Husky that I had been dreaming of for the last two years. I screamed with excitement.
“Thank you Mom! He is the cutest thing I have ever seen!” I said. I then gave my new puppy a hug. I noticed that next to him was an envelope with my name on it. I opened it up and found a small note from my Mom that read; Dear Kaitlyn, we are moving to the country! Also in the envelope was a photo of a huge house surrounded by a lot of land with a smaller house next to it. This would be a great place for me and my new puppy.
“Ding Dong”, I ran to the door to see who was there. I peeked out of the side window and saw a huge truck that had “MOVING IS EASY” down the side. I opened the door and a large man was standing there with a light blue t-shirt and navy pants on. I also noticed that on the pocket of his t-shirt it said “E-Z come, E-Z go”.
“Ya’ll comin’ or what?” he said in a deep loud voice.
“Yes sir”, I said quickly hoping I had given him the right answer. I ran up the stairs to pack my room. When I got there, my Mom was just closing the last box.
The movers packed the truck quickly and it was time to go. I hopped in the car with my new best friend, Simba, by my side. He wagged his tail and I smiled as I looked out the window and thought about our new home.
“So, does anybody live in that little house next door to our new house?” I asked.
“I’m not really sure”, Mom said uncertain.
“Well, I guess we will find out when we get there”, I said to Simba. The rest of the ride was quiet and calm and before I knew it we were pulling up to our new house.
I jumped out of the car and ran to the house. It really wasn’t a new house at all. In fact it was old, but very pretty. Mom unlocked the door and I stepped in.
“Creak”, went the wooden floor. I saw the stairs and ran up them as quickly as I could to pick out my room. The movers came in with my stuff and I began unpacking. When I was done, I plopped on the bed with Simba and began thinking of what we should do first. It only took a few minutes to decide that outside was the best place to start. I wanted to see if anyone lived in the little house next door.
Simba and I raced to see who could get to the little house first. Of course, I won. Simba kept tripping on his tiny legs. I knocked on the door and to my surprise a small girl, who appeared to be around ten years old, peeked out from behind the big wooden door.
“May I help you?” the little girl said.
“Hi”, I said. “I just moved in next door and wondered if anyone lived here. My name is Kaitlyn and this is my new puppy Simba”.
“Oh”, the little girl said with a strange look on her face.
She stepped from behind the door, “My name is Maple and I live here with my Dad. It is a pleasure to meet you. Please come in.” I picked up Simba and followed Maple into the house. There was a man cooking in the kitchen.
“Is that your Dad?” I asked.
“Yes, his name is Tom”, she said and kept walking towards the back of the house. Maple had big blue eyes and there was something unusual about her. We walked in her room and sat on the bed. Simba chewed on his tail while we talked about what we liked to do. I told Maple that I loved the outdoors and was happy to live in the county.
After a little while Maple stood up and said, “Let’s go outside, I want to show you something.”
We ran outside so she could show me around. It was cold so running was fun. We slowed down and walked through some woods to an open area.
“Isn’t this beautiful?” she said. “I love it here, this is my special place.”
“Yes”, I agreed.
“Kaitlyn,” I heard my Mom yell.
“Sorry Maple, but I have to go home now for dinner. Maybe we can hang out again tomorrow” I said.
“That would be nice”, Maple said. “I have been waiting a long time for a new friend to come along.”
“See you tomorrow” I said and ran towards the house.
The smell of steak and mashed potatoes filled the air as I walked to the kitchen. I was starving and since this was my favorite meal my Mom fixed it to celebrate my birthday. I washed my hands and face and sat down at the table to eat. I told Mom all about my day and meeting Maple. She was happy that I had made a new friend. She couldn’t wait to meet Maple and her Dad. We finished dinner and I ran upstairs to take a shower and get ready for bed. I was tired and excited about hanging out with Maple the next day.
As I was brushing my teeth, I heard the doorbell ring. It was Maple.
“Can I spend the night? My Dad went somewhere. I can’t find him.”
“Sure!”I replied. We ran upstairs and talked for a little while before we went to sleep. Maple told me that her Dad was gone a lot and that she was lonely. She also told me something that was really strange.
“I have a gift that you might think is weird. I can see things that other people cannot, like ghosts.”
“Oh cool. So are you ready for bed now?” I asked quickly trying to change the subject.
Mom opened the door, “Kaitlyn, are you talking to yourself?”
“No Mom, I’m going to bed now. I will see you in the morning.” Maple and Simba were already asleep. It didn’t take long for me to join them.
“Bang”, I jumped up startled by a loud noise.
“Bang”, I heard it again. I looked around the room and didn’t see Maple. Simba was still sleeping. I walked down the stairs and the door was wide open. I ran outside with no shoes on in the freezing snow. I could see Maple’s footprints in the snow and began to follow them. They led to the field we had been in earlier that day. The moonlight now lit up the field and I see Maple sitting on the ground holding someone.
“Maple, What are you doing?” I said. Her head slowly turned to mine and she had an unusual smile on her face.
“He has finally paid for what he did to me and now I can spend the rest of my life with you.”
“What are you talking about Maple? What have you done?” I screamed.
“Everyone said it was an accident, but I know the truth. My Dad killed me so he didn’t have to take care of me anymore. It was too hard and he was all alone. I have been waiting for you Kaitlyn so I could take my revenge. Now I have another family to be a part of.” Maple got up from the ground and hugged me.
“Get away from me!” I said. “I don’t understand what is going on.” Maple turned to me with her blue eyes shining and her blonde hair blowing in the wind.
“I am a ghost Kaitlyn and I need a family to haunt. I didn’t want to be alone so I couldn’t make my Dad pay for what he did to me until I had another family to be a part of. You are the only one who can see me.”
“NO!” I yelled and ran to the house as fast as I could.
I was freezing so I got under the covers to try to warm up. When I awoke the next morning I got up and ran downstairs. Had it all been a dream? I ran over to Maple’s house and found the door slightly opened. I stepped in and saw her sitting on the stairs leaning up against the stairwell. Her hair was covering her face. I lifted it and saw that her face was pale and cold. Her eyes were blood shot red. She looked up at me and said
“Kaitlyn, I am so glad that you and your Mom moved here. Can I spend the night with you? My Dad went somewhere I can’t find him.”
THE END
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