To: momanddad@home.com
From: kid@camp.net
Date: Sun, July 8, 2007 06:35 pm
Subject: Hello from Camp!
Dear Mom and Dad,
We get to send one e-mail home each evening. Cool, huh!? Today was kinda boring. We got our stuff settled into our tents. I've got three really strange roommates. They are friends from some small town in the middle of nowhere. I feel kinda left out. We met all the counselors. The lady in charge of our tent is cool. Her braids are down to her knees! She said that 'lights out' is at 10:00 pm, but if we are quiet after lights out and alert the next day she doesn't care how late we stay up. Well, it is almost time for dinner and there are other kids waiting to use this computer. I'll send more tomorrow.
To: momanddad@home.com
From: kid@camp.net
Date: Mon, July 9, 2007, 06:18 pm
Subject: Camp News
Hi again,
Today was boring too. We had to take swimming tests to get placed in our activities. A girl in the next tent cried all last night and all day today because she's so homesick. But they won't let her call or go home! I think she should just leave. I mean, she's miserable, and she's kinda making us miserable too. More tomorrow…
To: momanddad@home.com
From: kid@camp.net
Date: Tue, July 10, 2007, 06:07 pm
Subject: Me again
Hey Mom and Dad,
All the outdoor activity made me sleep like a dead person last night. The food is okay. At least I'm not going to starve. We got to take canoes out to the raft in the middle of the lake. The crying girl and her tent mates flipped their canoe. She hasn't cried since. I still feel like an outsider with my roomies, but they are getting better. We were the first canoe to the raft today, so we get second helpings on dessert tonight. See you tomorrow…
To: momanddad@home.com
From: kid@camp.net
Date: Wed, July 11, 2007, 06:15 pm
Subject: Camp update
Dear Mom and Dad,
My roommates snuck out of the tent last night and didn't come back for hours. I didn't tell anyone, but I wonder if I should. I wish you could reply to this e-mail to tell me what to do. I think I'll just ask them. The counselors took us on a long hike today. I've got blisters on my heels from my new hiking boots. We got to play volleyball with the boys from the camp on the other side of the lake. There were a couple cute boys. It was awkward having a bunch of boys we don't know around, but fun!
To: momanddad@home.com
From: kid@camp.net
Date: Thur, July 12, 2007, 06:35 pm
Subject: Scary Ghost Story
Dear Mom and Dad,
I asked the girls where they went and they had just snuck out to find some old burial plot that is supposed to be haunted. They didn't find it and went out again last night. I went with them this time. It's no big deal, so don't freak out. We had flashlights and didn't even go that far. It is some old legend and I doubt there is even a burial ground anywhere around here. It was fun to sneak around and pretend like there was, though. We got to play volleyball with the boys again! I guess we are going to do that every afternoon! It is really fun. We canoe to a volleyball court halfway between the camps, play a couple games and then canoe back. I love the campfire at night. We sing, tell ghost stories and talk about boys. Bye!!
To: momanddad@home.com
From: kid@camp.net
Date: Fri, July 13, 2007, 06:45 pm
Subject: Whoa, creepy!
Dear Mom and Dad,
We found the burial ground! I was so surprised. It has six graves with moss covered headstones. A moldy, broken down fence surrounds it. We found it really late and had to get back to the tent. We're going back tonight to see if any ghosts wander around it or anything. One of the boys said 'hi' to me today! He even played the position next to me during the last game. He's really cute. I can't believe he talked to me. Remember the crying girl? She broke her ankle today jumping from a tree. She cried when they told her she'd have to go home. Whatever!
To: momanddad@home.com
From: kid@camp.net
Date: Sat, July 14, 2007, 06:18 pm
Subject: Half way point
Dear Mom and Dad,
I can't believe camp is half over already! It is gonna be so hard to say goodbye to everyone, especially my roomies. We went straight to the burial ground last night. We hid under the trees and turned off our flashlights. Nothing happened. Once I thought I saw movement and I screamed. I scared the girls, they screamed too. We laughed really hard and knew that nothing was gonna happen after that. The cute boy didn't talk to me at all today. I wore my cutest pair of shorts and everything. What the heck is that all about? My roomies are calling me, I gotta go…
To: momanddad@home.com
From: kid@camp.net
Date: Sun, July 15, 2007, 06:21 pm
Subject: Hi
Yo parents,
Last night on the way to the burial ground we ran into some boys. They were trying to sneak into our camp. Good thing we found them first, the counselors would have freaked out if they'd caught the boys. We just hung out with them for awhile then went back to our tent. It wasn't much fun, since the cute boy wasn't there. I'd rather have gone to the burial ground. The cute boy did smile at me today, but that was all. I think he might be shy. We went on another long hike today, my blisters have blisters. I'm really hungry, gotta run.
To: momanddad@home.com
From: kid@camp.net
Date: Mon, July 16, 2007, 06:32 pm
Subject: Thanks
Dear Mom and Dad,
I got the care package from you guys today. We loved the chocolate chip cookies! Thanks for the extra batteries for my flashlight. We went back to the burial ground last night. Nothing happened, but I swear I saw our counselor. I thought I caught a glimpse of her through the trees, but the other girls said I was just seeing things. When we got back to camp there was a lot of commotion. We snuck in from behind our tent and pretended like we'd just woken up. Turns out those boys who we'd run into the night before had come back again to sneak into camp. They were caught. At the volleyball game today, I asked the cute boy where those other guys were. He said they were sent home. We tried to warn them. But I got to talk to the cute guy!!!! He has the most amazing smile and he's really tall. My roomie took a picture of us while we were talking. She said she'd e-mail it to me after we get home.
To: momanddad@home.com
From: kid@camp.net
Date: Tue, July 17, 2007, 06:52 pm
Subject: AHHHHHHH
Dear Mom and Dad,
Oh my gosh! We saw ghosts last night in the burial grounds! Three of them. They were girls, our age dressed in weird clothes; tube tops, super short cut-off shorts and tube socks with tennis shoes. They seemed to be playing volleyball, right there on the burial grounds. We could just barely hear them cheering each other on. It was so crazy. We could see through them, but they seemed so real. One girl had long beautiful blond hair, another girl had hair cut short and the other girl had long braids. It was amazing. So completely amazing. They faded away when they won their ghost game. We sat there for a long time after that. I thought I saw our counselor walk away again, but no one else saw her. Today we swam out to the raft. My roomies and I lay out there talking about what we saw. We are going back tonight for sure.
To: momanddad@home.com
From: kid@camp.net
Date: Wed, July 18, 2007, 06:26 pm
Subject: Real ghost stories
Wow,
We saw the girls again last night. They actually left the burial ground! We followed them down to the lake. The legend says that is where they died. They ran and skipped down to the water, slipped their shorts and tops off. They had their ghostly bikinis underneath. They splashed quietly out into the water. They were playing around when they were suddenly yanked under. One right after the other. We didn't see them again. We ran back up to the burial grounds but they weren't there either. We were kinda freaked out. It was almost like watching them drown. We walked back to our tent and climbed back into bed without saying a word. It was sad. Really sad.
To: momanddad@home.com
From: kid@camp.net
Date: Thur, July 19, 2007, 06:03 pm
Subject: More ghost stories
Guess what?
We couldn't help it. We had to go back again. We just wanted to see the ghosts happy like the first night. We did, but this time there were three new ghosts with them. Three boys, same age, dressed just as oddly in skin tight muscle shirts, tight shorts with white piping around curved hems, same striped tube socks and tennis shoes. The boys all had shaggy, long hair that hung in their eyes and flopped around when they ran or jumped. They played volleyball with the girls and they were all having fun. We were so glad to see them happy and laughing that we skipped and sang all the way back to the tent. Right before I ducked in through the door of our tent, I caught sight of our counselor rounding the corner of her own tent. Her flashlight illuminated her profile and she had a small smile on her face. The cute boy played on the team opposite me today. We smiled at each other a lot and he even hit the ball to me once.
To: momanddad@home.com
From: kid@camp.net
Date: Fri, July 20, 2007, 06:05 pm
Subject: Campfire
Hi Mom and Dad,
Tonight is the last campfire. The boys get to come and join us during campfire and the cute boy asked me if he could sit with me! I'm so excited. I hope he holds my hand. Last night we went back to the graveyard and all six ghosts were sitting in a circle. It seemed like fire light was reflecting on their faces, though there was no ghostly campfire in the middle of them. They were paired off in couples. Wrapped in blankets and cuddling close. We could just barely hear the words of the song they sang together. It was a song I've heard you guys sing before; Rocky Mountain High. They all knew the words and they laughed with each other a lot. Somehow it seemed like they were saying goodbye to each other; like we will be doing tonight at our campfire. As we watched them fade away tears fell down our cheeks. It was a sad feeling. So final. We are going back tonight, but I don't expect to see them.
To: momanddad@home.com
From: kid@camp.net
Date: Sat, July 21, 2007, 10:37 am
Subject: Coming Home
Hi,
The bus leaves after lunch. I thought I'd send one last e-mail, though you may not even check the e-mail before you pick me up. Last night was so hard. Fun and sad all wrapped into one. The cute boy and I sat together all night. He held my hand and put his arm around me. We whispered with each other. It was fun having a private conversation in a big crowd. But then we had to say goodbye. I know I'll never hear from him again. I can just tell. It was hard having to say goodbye. Then my roomies and I went out for our final visit to the burial ground. We picked six small bouquets of flowers on the way there to set on each grave. When we got there, there were no ghosts but our counselor stood inside the moldy, broken down fence. She had flowers, too. Her head was bowed and she was crying. We approached cautiously, not sure if we should interrupt. I finally asked her if she was okay. She smiled through her tears and took a very long time to answer. When she did she told us this:
"I work at this camp every year so that I can see them one more time. They only come at this time of year, to relive the end of their lives and to have their final campfire. The campfire they never got when alive. The campfire I never had. The girl with the braids is my sister. We came to camp together that year. She and her friends had met some boys they liked. It happens every year. But that year they went too far. They had arranged to meet the boys for an evening swim. The boys decided to play a joke on the girls. They put on masks and snorkels and waited for the girls in the water. When the girls swam out, the boys surprised them by already being there and pulling them under water. No one knows for sure how all six of them drowned that night. Somehow, none of them surfaced alive. Instead of a final campfire that year we held a funeral. Here on this spot. I had a very hard time accepting my sister's death. I had to come back to camp the next year just to try to accept that she really wasn't with me anymore. But I found her here anyway. I've been coming back every year since."
We placed our bouquets on the graves of the six kids who had only made it to their early teens. We held hands with our counselor as she said goodbye, yet again, to her sister. The five of us walked back to camp, arm-in-arm singing, Rocky Mountain High.
Mom and Dad, I'll be coming home to you in just a few hours. But I'll be a slightly different person, because now I know what if feels like to have to say goodbye. To really say "Goodbye." I can't wait to see you. Maybe we could hang out together tomorrow. All of us, as a family.
I love you.
DrewAnne
The
End
Paula McClean and her husband live with their four children in Bend, Oregon. They love to hike the trails and canoe on the high lakes of the Cascades. At night they build a fire and take turns telling stories. Paula loves the thrill of a good ghost story but hers always have a happy ending. Paula has also been published in KidVisions, Fandangle and the Silicate.
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