On The Other Side Of The Fence

When Kayla's aunt told her she would be staying with another aunt she'd never met for a few weeks, she knew her ‘weirdness’ had become too much for Aunt Audrey to bear.

It was always the same: a new home, unfamiliar faces and the quiet hope that this time, someone might want her to stay for a longer time.

Her late mother had been just like her, seeing the ghosts of people who had passed away. Now she had inherited the same ability and because of it, she kept moving homes between her aunts and uncles.

Aunt Eliza owned an old Victorian style house on Maroon street and Kayla loved it immediately when they arrived. Then she noticed a lantern hanging from a hook in the yard behind their house.

The house behind Aunt Eliza’s had been empty, the windows dark, the grass knee-high and the old wooden fence between the houses leaned like a tired drunk.

Every night at dusk, the lantern swayed on its hook, the clanging sound eerie, like a call for anyone to come and light it. But no one did.

“Aunt Ellie, who lights the lantern?” She had asked one evening, pointing at the window. Aunt Eliza peered through the glass and shrugged. “For the life of me, I had no idea there was a lantern there and I've been living here for a year now.”

A few nights to Halloween, Kayla stood at the kitchen window watching the lantern and wishing someone would light it and make the flame glow. She had bought a bag of candy for the trick-or-treaters because she wanted the neighbourhood to like her but nobody had come to their door yet.

Then she saw something move beneath the lantern. She looked closely and saw a child, maybe seven, standing still, wearing a white gown with two ragged eyeholes. It looked directly at her.

Her heart lurched at the strange sight. She closed the curtains, telling herself it was a kid down the street, playing a game. Then she peeked minutes later and the child was closed, standing at the fence now. Kayla ran to her room.

On Halloween night, she set a bowl of candy on the porch and waited. Aunt Eliza had gone to bed at 8 p.m. The street was quiet, no costumes, no laughter.

Then someone knocked, three soft taps, on the back door. Kayla's mouth went dry as she peered through the kitchen window to see the child on the back step, holding out a bowl.

“Trick or treat,” it whispered. The voice sounded like leaves dragged across concrete. Kayla knew then she was no child but a ghost. Trembling, she opened the door a crack and dropped a handful of candy into the bowl.

“Thank you,” the ghost said, nodding. “We have been waiting a long time for someone like you…to see us.”

“We?” Kayla squeaked.

The ghost turned and Kayla followed its gaze across the yard to the fence and her breath stopped. On the other side of the fence stood dozens of little children in dirty-white gowns and tattered coats, their small pale faces all turned towards her.

“They used to live here,” the ghost said, almost kindly. “Before the house forgot them.”

“I…I'm sorry,” Kayla managed.

“Don't be. You said yes and whoever answers gets to keep the lantern lit.” Kayla looked down and saw the candy bowl was gone from the ghost's hand. In its place was a small iron book and in a blink, she found it already resting in her palm.

The next morning, the neighbours on Maroon street noticed that the old house finally had a caretaker. The grass was trimmed, the windows cleaned and glowed, and the lantern hung steady in the backyard and stayed lit through the night.

I hope you enjoyed reading this short piece. It's inspired by the Freewrite #dailyprompt phrase "on the other side of the fence”.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

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