The Ghost Girl

 

My grandma lost her right eye when she was nine years old. I asked my mother constantly when I was young, curious about what happened to her. 

My mother told me each time that she didn’t know herself, and told me to never ask her, because it was probably traumatic for her. Then my grandma surprised me by telling me the story. It wasn’t what I was expecting. 

I assumed she had lost her eye during a horrible accident, but I was met with a supernatural story instead. She told me everything, pointing at the black eyepatch now covering her right eye. 

“I saw a little girl when I decided to go for a walk on an abandoned trail. You know the one called Ghost Trail, the one by the river?”

I nodded. 

“I saw her there when I decided to run away from home, again. She was giggling, walking ahead of me. I grew curious, and I caught up to her. Then I saw her face.”

She grew quiet, before continuing on with the story. 

“She had no eyes. The top of her face was a blank slate. It was just skin. Then before I knew it, I felt my right eye get ripped out. It was literally ripped out of my socket. The pain was immense.”

My grandma reached out to touch the patch.

“Before I passed out, all I could hear was her laughing. A passerby found me, and I was taken to the hospital. My parents were crying, telling me that they should have told me sooner. To never look at the face of the ghost girl.”

“Why?,” I asked. 

“She takes one of your eyes if you do. Because she wants to see again. Unfortunately, no matter how many she takes, she will never regain her sight.”

I rolled my eyes. 

“Grandma…you don’t really believe that story, right? There’s no way that’s real. Do you even know where she came from?”

My grandma shook her head. 

“It doesn’t matter where she came from. You must follow the rules, Madison. Or she will take one of your eyes.”

I didn’t respond anymore. It was best not to, because I think my grandma was slightly crazy. There was no way that story was real. Anyways, I didn’t have to worry long, because mom and I would go home in a couple of days. 

I hated visiting my grandma. She lived out here in the countryside, where there was nothing to do. 

I really did prefer the comfort of my own city, where I can hang with my friends and gossip about celebrities we thought were hot. How I missed my friends. 

I couldn’t wait to tell them the loony story I just learned from my grandma. They were going to have a field day with it. 

Later on in the day around evening time, I decided to go for a bike ride, while listening to music. It was one of my favorite things to do in the city. Might as well do something I enjoy back home. 

I told my family that I would be back, and took off on my bike. 

My headphones were playing 80s music as I let the soft breeze caress my face. The sky was a nice shade of orange, the clouds blending in perfectly with the colors as the evening was slowly arriving. 

It was actually quite nice. Maybe the countryside wasn’t so bad after all. 

I saw a little girl, walking ahead of me on the trail. I took a quick look around, checking to see if there was anyone with her. Alarmed, I looked back at the girl, ripping out my headphones. She was all alone. 

Irritated, I got off my bike, and started walking toward her, dragging the bike with me. It pissed me off that people would let their children loose like this. Is it that hard to watch your kids? Reckless idiots. 

I was going to make sure that little girl got home safe and sound. I caught up to the girl. I bend down to talk to her, a forced smile on my face. 

The little girl had no eyes. 

There was only skin. 

Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn