by
Rachel Lysenko
On
Sunday, the day before Halloween, Lily walked out of her house and
saw a boy strolling down the street. Deciding to ignore him, she took
out a rake and started to rake the leaves out of the driveway, as she
did every morning in autumn after a windy night. The boy kept coming
onwards in the direction of Lily’s house but only looked at her
house when he turned and stopped in her driveway.
“What
do you want?” asked Lily. The boy did not reply but started staring
at her instead of at the house, with an expression as inanimate as a
mask.
“Why
are you here, what do you want?” she asked and again received no
answer. Freaked out, Lily went inside and stayed there the whole day
doing her homework.
The
next day, Lily woke up thinking about school and candy. The moment
she opened the door, she closed it back up and locked it. The boy was
a few steps closer to the house then she remembered.
“Mom,”
said Lily. “There is someone outside on our driveway.”
“Go
to school Lily,” said her mother in a tired voice. “You’ll be
late.”
Frightened
but obedient, Lily walked out onto her lawn and locked the door from
the outside. Something she had never done before. Inching her way as
close to the wall as possible, Lily passed the boy and ran the rest
of the way to school.
After
school, Lily came home and shrieked when she saw the boy. She had
forgotten he was there. Coming in the same way as she had left, she
locked the door again and called her mother who did not answer.
“Hi
Mom, the boy is still there. When are you coming home? I am freaked
out. Call me back as fast as you can,” Lily said after the beep
that allowed you to leave a voice mail.
Her
mother did not come home that night or the next. For three days Lily
waited and watched the boy come closer and closer to her door.
On
the third day, Lily unlocked her door to look outside but thought
better of it and looked out the window. The boy was really close and
had his hand half raised as if reaching out for something. Lily
walked out the back door and locked it as she did every day with the
front one.
After
school, Lily came home and saw her mother inside hugging the boy who
was staring out her window. He went outside and Lily grabbed for him,
but her hand went through him. She saw herself turning into mist as
the boy smiled and said, “Good bye.”
