After
volleyball practice was track with Tori, and then after track practice was
soccer. Autumn was embarrassed that she was constantly be begged by every coach
to join their team; like that woman in Africa a couple years ago. Some people
had said she shouldn't be allowed to compete because she was just pretending to
be a woman, but she was really a man.
Autumn felt
like that all the time, a freak. People looked at her with fear, and all she
could do was hold her head high and try her best to be as nice as possible. But
talking was so hard. People always took things the wrong way. Most of
the time is was just easier to not say anything at all.
The ghosts
didn't make her feel normal either.
Autumn saw
another one waiting for her at the edge of the field after soccer practice.
This time it looked to be a twelve year old girl. Autumn grimaced. The younger
ones always made her so sad. She walked over slowly, waiting until the rest of
the team was headed towards the showers and the coaches were involved in a
heated discussion by the water jugs.
The girl was
crying, but Autumn didn't say anything. She just motioned for the girl to
follow until they got behind the bleachers.
She had
heavy makeup on her face and wore a floral pink shirt with ruffles on the
bottom. Her white shoes were scuffed and her blue jeans were sun bleached and
had holes in them.
Ghosts never
said much, or maybe it was just that Autumn couldn't understand what they said. All she heard was a soft mumbling, like a radio turned down too low to distinguish the words. Words weren't necessary though. Autumn reached out and took the girl’s hand.
The images started flickering immediately. She saw the girl's parents, a stern faced man with gray streaks in his black hair, a soft woman with sad eyes, dressed in pale green. She saw a sharp-eyed friend or brother, laughing on a swing set with the girl. She saw teachers, a preacher, more friends. Quickly the images piled up on top of each other, a lifetime of memories, faces, places. Spring, winter, summer, fall, all passed by in flashes. Autumn witnessed a fuzzy bug-like Halloween costume, a broken china doll, an apple tree in a small backyard. Time held no meaning; one image she was a toddler, the next blowing out ten candles. Autumn saw the girl's fall into the canal where she'd drowned. She saw her mother holding a newborn. It took only moments, but it was a lifetime.
She said, "Rachel Wong."
Rachel glowed brighter and brighter, and then faded, and then she was gone.
The images started flickering immediately. She saw the girl's parents, a stern faced man with gray streaks in his black hair, a soft woman with sad eyes, dressed in pale green. She saw a sharp-eyed friend or brother, laughing on a swing set with the girl. She saw teachers, a preacher, more friends. Quickly the images piled up on top of each other, a lifetime of memories, faces, places. Spring, winter, summer, fall, all passed by in flashes. Autumn witnessed a fuzzy bug-like Halloween costume, a broken china doll, an apple tree in a small backyard. Time held no meaning; one image she was a toddler, the next blowing out ten candles. Autumn saw the girl's fall into the canal where she'd drowned. She saw her mother holding a newborn. It took only moments, but it was a lifetime.
She said, "Rachel Wong."
Rachel glowed brighter and brighter, and then faded, and then she was gone.
Tori ran up a moment later.