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Teenage Ghost
When Evan returned home from school, he noticed a large half dusty suitcase in the hallway. “Mom? Why’s there’s an old suitcase in the hallway?”
Evan’s mother walked into the hallway wiping her hands dry with a cup towel. “Grandpa had your dad drag it down for you and your friend to put in the clubhouse.”
Evan reached down to pick it up, and found it wasn’t empty. “What’s in it?”
“Old comic books.” she said disinterested and returned to the dishes was doing in the kitchen.
There was a knock on the screen door, Evan turned around to see Jeff standing there. “Oh! Just in time!” Evan exclaimed with relief and opened the screen door. “We’ve got to get this up to the tree house.” he showed Jeff the suitcase.
“Is that what I think it is?” Jeff held the door open and the two walked to the tree house. “How are we going to get it up there?” Jeff looked up.
“We could carry it all a little at a time, but that would take all night. This is practically a steamer trunk.”
“If there was a pulley in the tree house we could hoist it up.” Jeff offered.
“But there’s not.” Evan looked up at the tree house. “If we used something like a mop handle and a rope, we could maybe do it.”
“A mop handle will break, that’s too much weight.” Jeff rationalized. “What about an old metal pipe? Do you have any of those around?”
“Maybe in the garage.” The two went in the garage and rummaged around, in, and behind everything they could see. They found a yellow utility rope that would be long enough to hoist the trunk up, if ever they found a strong enough bar to hold it.
Evan’s mom interrupted their search and demanded the two come in for dinner and homework. Jeff helped Evan bring the old suitcase inside, then helped him set the table for dinner.
Everyone ate at the table except for Evan Sr who was asleep in his room by 7pm when dinner was served. In the middle of dinner there was a strange sound upstairs in his room, it sounded like a loud thump.
Everyone, including Jeff rushed up to the room.
Evan’s grandfather had fallen out of bed, and was grasping his chest gasping for air. Evan’s mother dialed 911. Evan’s dad rushed to his father’s side. Evan Jr and Jeff stayed in the doorway looking on.
Evan Sr’s eyes glanced up as he was gasping to his grandson, and to the boy who stood beside him. There was something so familiar about that boy, but how could there be? He was so tired now though, so tired, and he must sleep. Evan Sr closed his eyes, his breathing began to become steadily slower.