• Driving down the country road, watching the amber colored fields speed by until they become an endless gold blur that mixes with the sky to form an image resembling glass tie dyed into a myriad of colors. He sighed, feeling relaxed but restless at the same time. Drive, drive, drive. The sun set and the sky grew dark as he continued driving, getting out of the fields and into a more wild, water logged area. He glanced in his rear view mirror as he turned the corner, noticing flashing blue lights, like the color of a softly blue cotton ball, periodically illuminating the watery area below. He pulled his car to a stop and slowly got out.
    Nothing. There was always nothing. He leaned against his car and hid his face in his hands. Thoughts whirled in his mind with more color and force than the fields before. He left out a frustrated yell and whacked himself on the forehead, as if trying to push his thoughts away. Between his fingers he saw the flash of blue light again. In his mind, somewhere, but he didn’t know where, the word ‘flashlight’ came to mind. He sighed, not willing to risk human interaction by calling out.
    “Are you alright?” A soft voice disturbed his thoughts. He slowly lowered his hands and turned his head to look at a quiet looking girl, wearing an old looking white sundress, and a matching white hat. He slowly shook his head and looked away. “I’m. fine…” He mumbled quietly. Then he remembered the light, and figured it was her shining the flashlight around. “What about you? Are you lost or something?” He asked, looking back at her. “No, I’m not lost. But I lost something very dear to me. Would you help me find it?” She asked, offering a sweet smile. He nodded out of kindness. “Sure, what is it?” He asked. The girl looked thoughtful. “My school bag. My favorite trinket is in it. Please my grandmother got it for me.” She pleaded. He sighed, and nodded. Snagging another flashlight from the car, he thought about her odd way of talking. ‘School bag’? ‘Trinket’? He shrugged it off. He moved out of the car and turned back to the girl who was smiling quietly. “Okay, let’s get this over with.” He said softly. She nodded and quickly moved through the marsh, looking for the bag. He frowned. “Didn’t you have a flashlight?” He asked her. “Oh… I … dropped it. I’m so sorry.” She apologized. Of course. It was just his luck to find a lost girl looking for a lost bag with no way to find the bag.
    He had been walking for about ten minutes looking around, when he noticed a flashing blue light. ‘She must’ve found her flashlight’ He turned around, looking for her. Her frowned. There was no one to be seen. He sighed, she was lost. Again. He continued his search for her bag. If she had a flashlight, she could get herself back to the car. He continued forward, shining his light around. Then he spied an old brown bag, hanging off a tree branch, over a low marshy area. He sighed and slowly trudged through the muck. He reached the tree, and tired to get the bag. He discovered that the branch was much higher than he thought. He grabbed a low branch, and looked up at the bag. It seemed ... old. Really old… He shook it off, and tried to pull himself out of the knee deep mud and onto the tree. He frowned when he noticed that he was stuck. He reached down into the murk to pull himself out of the mud, when his fingers grazed against a smooth, hard surface. He pointed his flashlight into the water and gasped in fright when he saw a skeleton in the water. Hi eyes widened in terrible realization as he saw that the skeleton was wearing the same dress and hat as the girl he had been trying to help. The blue light flashed close by once again, and he saw a pair of legs standing in the water next to him. He raised his head to see the girl staring peacefully at her remains.
    “I fell off the tree… when I was trying to get out of the mud, I hit my head.” She smiled. “I guess I drowned.” He tried not to shake from fear as he spoke. “How long ago was this?” He stuttered, trying to hide his fear. “Oh, about, a hundred years ago.” She said slowly. He clamped his eyes shut; trying to pretend that it was all a dream. The flashing blue light hit his face again. He opened his eyes to see the girl, and at least a dozen light blue orbs hovering around the area. It would have been a beautiful sight if it hadn’t been so ghastly. The bright illumination of the orbs made the area appear as if it were daytime. His eyes widened as he noticed beneath each orb was another human skeleton.
    “They all helped me. You see, it’s awfully lonely out here in the marsh. I missed having friends so much.” She said, clasping her hands together and giggling. His horror consumed him and he began to struggle, screaming for help. His arm slammed against the tree. The ancient branch finally broke, and the old, heavy school bag fell right on top of his head with a resounding thud. He fell face first into the water and didn’t move any further. The girl tilted her head. "Hm. The bag finally came down."