Cassidy's Writes: The Graveyard - Part 1
When I was young, I would always walk to my grandpa's house. I loved it there, he never ran out of advice or stories to tell. He would always talk of spirits, and being able to communicate with them. My parents said it was because he was getting older but I was 7 and believed every word. There’s a saying my grandpa used to tell me often, it was something like…“Everyone comes into your life for a reason. Some for good or bad. They may shape us, break us but in the end they make us who we are.” I remember nodding my head, not fully understanding what he meant, just wanting to go exploring. In fact, I explored so much that it became boring. The only place that was untouched by me was the community graveyard that I was told to avoid at all costs…which is why I didn’t, of course.
While telling his stories, my grandpa would often doze off. I’d usually wake him up, and urge him to tell me the rest, but there was one night I didn’t. He dozed off around the good part, and as much as I wanted to hear it, I saw my chance and took it. I grabbed my backpack and slipped out the back door. Heading towards the one place I wasn’t supposed to. It was around a five minute walk, but since it was dark it took me a little longer. The closer I got it seemed like the flashlight I was using started to get dimmer, but it may have just been me. The moment I climbed over the gates of the graveyard, chills went through every part of me. This might have been the first time I experienced genuine fear. For a moment, it seemed like my feet were stuck to the ground, and I couldn’t move, but the sounds of the wind broke my trance. I began to run, and I didn’t stop until I was surrounded by only graves and trees, attempting to catch my breath.
Through the rustling of the trees, I heard footsteps approaching. “It’s a little late for you to be out, don’t you think?” The groundskeeper of the graveyard said slowly walking towards me. “Where are your parents?”
I backed away from him, my heart beating out of my chest. “Home…I came alone.”
The groundskeeper pulled his lantern towards his face. “Well, it’s not safe for you to be out here alone like this. Come with me.” He motioned the lantern towards him, and I eventually followed him deeper into the graveyard.
“You never get lost?” I asked, looking around cautiously.
“I’ve been here long enough to know my way around.” He chuckled.
“You're not scared?”
The groundskeeper stopped and looked back at me. “You sure ask a lot of questions.” He laughed as the cold air blew through my hair. “What is there to be afraid of?”
I sucked in a breath and looked around. “The spirits.”
