Rest in Peace

Liana watched as the movers unpacked suitcases and furniture from the big van. Her father was unloading the cat carrier from the car. Skippy, the family dog, was barking and jumping all over Liana and her mother. Liana laughed and patted Skippy's fuzzy head.

"Liana, honey, get Marmy's cat carrier and take it in the house, will you," her dad called. Liana ran over to the car and picked up the carrier. It contained her cat, Marmalade, Marmy for short. She took it in the old house and lifted Marmy out. The gorgeous orange cat prowled around the room, meowing helplessly. "Poor kitty," Liana said. "You're not used to empty rooms." Marmalade purred in agreement and jumped up on the window ledge, where she curled up, purring, in the sun. Liana smiled and went back outside.

Skippy was very eager to explore. He pulled so hard on the leash that Mrs. Markson almost fell down. When she saw Liana, she pleaded," Please take this animal inside the house and calm him down!"

"Sure, Mom," Liana said, taking the leash. "I'm going to pick out my room and I'd like some company." Mrs. Markson nodded and went to help her husband unload the rest of the suitcases from the car.

Liana pushed open the door with one hand and tugged Skippy inside, where she took off the leash and let Skippy loose.

She ran lightly up the stairs and slowed down as she neared the top. Coming to a halt, Liana looked all around. She felt as if she were being watched, but of course that was absurd. She walked down the hall and began to peer into rooms.

Finally she came to the last door. Liana opened it and immediately felt at home. Skippy began to bark and growl menacingly. Liana started. She hadn't realized that the dog had followed her upstairs.

"What is it, boy?" Liana asked. "Is someone here?" she looked around the room, but it was empty except for the two of them. Liana shrugged and ran back down to tell the movers where to put her bed.

"Here's the last of it," one of the men said, setting a couple of boxes down on the grass. They were both marked "M's Books." The van drove off.

Liana picked up one of the heavy boxes. Mr. Markson lifted the other box and said," Where to, Liana?"

"Follow me," Liana replied, staggering under the weight of the box she carried. Her dad followed her up the stairs and into the bedroom she had picked. He set the box down and looked around.

"It sure is cold up here," he commented.

Liana looked at him and said," I'm not cold at all. I feel fine." Mr. Markson grinned and said," I'll bring your suitcases up, kay?" Liana nodded and he went back downstairs.

Liana opened one of the boxes and began to arrange her books in the bookshelf. When she was done, she wandered over to the window and looked out. "The garden'll look pretty from up here," she thought and peered down. What she saw surprised her.

Mr. Markson lugged two of his daughter's three suitcases up to her room and entered. Liana was standing by the window. Her father put the luggage on her bed and asked," So, is there a good view?" He walked over and glanced out.

"Dad, look down," Liana said. "There's a balcony."

Mr. Markson looked down and said in surprise," So there is."

"How do you get out on it?" Liana asked.

Mr. Markson studied it and replied," I don't know. I guess you climb out the window. I wouldn't try, though. It's been there for many years and the wood might be rotten. It probably won't hold your weight." He left the room and called back," We're having lunch soon!"

"Okay!" Liana called back. She returned to the window.

When she came down, lunch was already laid out on the table and Skippy was looking hopefully at the food. When he saw Liana, he whined. "Where's Marmy?" Liana asked, giving Skippy a piece of her pork chop.

"I haven't seen her," Mrs. Markson answered. "Don't feed the dog at the table. He's spoiled enough." Liana grinned and petted Skippy.

When she was done eating, Liana got up and said," I'm going to go look for Marmy." She went upstairs, wondering where the cat could be. Every door was closed except. . . Liana stared at the open door across from her bedroom. She could have sworn it had been closed when she went down to lunch. Maybe Marmalade had gone in there.

She stepped inside and turned on the light. Sure enough, Marmy was lying on the floor. Liana nudged her with her foot and said," Time for eats." Marmy didn't move. Liana picked her up and gasped. Marmalade was limp and cold! Liana dropped her.

"Mom!" she cried, turning around. A boy was standing behind her. He was dressed in faded clothes and had sandy hair. Liana could see him and see through him at the same time. "A ghost!" she whispered in fright. The boy reached for her. Liana screamed and fainted.

When she came to, the boy was leaning over her. Liana screamed again and hit out, but she was punching thin air. The boy disappeared. Her dad rushed to her side. "It's all right, Liana," he soothed. "Everything's okay."

Liana sat up and said," What about Marmy?" She looked around. She was lying on the couch in the living room.

Mr. and Mrs. Markson looked at each other and Mrs. Markson said gently," I'm sorry, Liana. Marmy is dead."

Liana fell back on the cushions, breathing heavily. "Marmy dead?" she asked. "But how?"

Mrs. Markson looked worried. "I don't know," she replied.



Liana started crying and she asked," Did that boy do something to her?"

Her parents looked puzzled. "What boy?" asked Mr. Markson. Liana started to explain, but then she remembered. The boy was a ghost. She shook her head and began to cry harder. Then she noticed a picture on the wall. It was of a smiling family.

Liana pointed to it and asked," Is that ours?"

"No," Mr. Markson said. "The family that last lived here must have left it."

"Can I see it?" said Liana. Her dad took it off the wall and handed it to her.

Liana dusted it off. The picture was of a man, a woman, and two boys. She looked at the caption. "Mr. and Mrs. Maple and their two sons. Tim, 10 years. Jerry, 17 years. 1943" Suddenly it all made sense. Liana started laughing. Tim was the boy she'd seen. He must have come back to his old house. She had been so upset by Marmy's death that she had thought he was a ghost. She laughed harder. It was funny once you thought about it.

Mr. Markson sat down next to her and asked," What is it?"



Liana pointed to Tim and said," He was the boy I saw. He must have come back to his old house."

Mrs. Markson looked worried and said slowly," I don't think so, Liana. The reason that the Maple's moved out was because of the death of their 10 year old son, Tim. They found the body and called the police, but when they came back, the body was gone. And it was a very long time ago."

Liana got cold all over and she thought," So it really was a ghost."

She got up and said," I'm going to my room." She walked up the stairs. When she opened the door to her room, she gasped. Tim was sitting on her bed. Summoning up all of her courage, Liana sat down next to him. "Are you Tim Maple?" she asked.

The boy looked surprised and said," Yes. How did you know my name?"

Liana smiled. "I saw your picture," she said. "You died here?"

Tim didn't answer. After a few seconds, he nodded and said flatly," My brother, Jerry, murdered me."

Liana started and stared at him. "Where did your body go?" she asked

"He buried it," Tim answered. "I can show you where, if you don't believe me." Liana swallowed and nodded bravely.

The two ran outside and Liana grabbed a shovel that was leaning against the wall. Tim led her around to the side of the house and pointed. "Right there," he said.

Liana looked up and saw the balcony. "Right below my window!" she cried. She held her shovel firmly and started to dig. Soon she hit something. She uncovered it and gasped. A decaying skeleton dressed in rags looked back at her. Most of it was intact except for a few bones and it's neck, which was broken.

Liana stared at it and said slowly," Did he break your neck?" Tim kicked a piece of rotted flesh and nodded solemnly. "Why?" Liana asked. "Why would he do such a thing to his own brother?"

"He was jealous of me," Tim explained. "I was the youngest and my parents favored me. He wanted to be an only child. He snuck back here while Mother and Father called the police and dragged my body away. Later he buried me. As a ghost, I watched the whole thing."

He looked sad. Liana bit her lip. She felt sorry for him. "Well, we can be friends, right?" she asked.

"Of course," Tim said, smiling at her. "Come with me. I know where there's a treehouse."

Tim and Liana ran to the back of the garden. Sure enough, there was a treehouse. "Are you sure it's safe?" asked Liana, remembering what her dad had told her about rotten wood.

Tim climbed up and said," Sure it's safe. Come on up!" Liana shook her head and said," I'd better not. It might not hold my weight."



He made a puppy-dog face. "Just this once," he coaxed.

Liana gave in. "Sure. It couldn't hurt this once," she said.

She climbed up and walked over to Tim. "Let's play something," she suggested. "I know! We'll pre -" She was interrupted by a sound of cracking wood beneath her feet.

"Help!" Liana cried as she fell through the floor. She scrambled around and grabbed a branch of the tree.

Liana looked down and sighed in relief. The ground wasn't very far below, so she dropped.. Dusting herself off, she said to Tim." Let's go to my room. It's safer and I have lots of neat stuff." Tim nodded and climbed down to follow her.

When they got to her room, the first thing Tim did was go to the window. He looked out and said," The balcony is blocking my view. I'm going down." He opened the window and jumped down.



Liana watched him and said," Be careful. The wood is probably rotten."

Tim examined the wood and said," It's all right. The wood's not rotten. This balcony hasn't been here as long as the treehouse has. It won't crash."

Liana gulped and said shakily," O-okay. If you're sure, then I'm coming down."

Carefully, she climbed out of the window and landed lightly on the balcony. When nothing happened, she relaxed and took a single step.

CRASH! The part of the balcony that she was standing on tumbled down. There was a sickening crunch as Liana hit the ground, and then silence.

Liana pushed a piece of wood off of her chest and looked up at Tim, who was smiling. Liana got up and said," My parents are sure going to be angry! My dad told me not to go on the balcony."

Tim smiled wider as he pointed behind her. Puzzled, Liana turned around to look. Her stomach turned upside-down when she saw what he was pointing at. Her own body lay motionless on the ground. She took a step backward and stared at Tim again.

"I can finally rest in peace," Tim said in a chilling tone.

"What do you mean?" Liana asked.

"I have been haunting this house for fifty years," Tim replied. "A ghost is doomed to haunt the place where he, or she, was murdered at. The only way I can rest in peace is to find a replacement ghost to haunt this house. I have found one." He softened for a moment when he saw her terror-stricken face and said," I'm sorry. I even tried killing your cat to see if that would be enough. Since it wasn't, I have killed you." He grinned evilly and vanished.

Mr. and Mrs. Markson ran out of the house and saw what had happened. Mrs. Markson started sobbing and Liana's father rushed over to see if his daughter was still alive.

Unaware of all that was happening, Liana felt strangely at ease. She began wandering around the garden, waiting, waiting for someone to come so that she too, could rest in peace.





Copyright 2001 by Chantessy