This year for the first time we are sharing several of our short story submissions publicly! Please enjoy the following story by middle school student Madeline Dickson:
The Music Box Ghost
A Short Story By Madeline Dickson
Riley did not like this new house. It was big and old, and it looked like no one had lived in it since the 16th century. Riley and her family had moved to the town Everdale after her identical twin sister had been kidnapped, and had almost taken her to. The police advised that they move incase the kidnapper happens to come back for her. So they moved.
“Riley! Come see your new room!” Her mother called from upstairs. Sighing, Riley picked up her boxes and came upstairs. When she got to her room, she gasped, it was huge, with a canopy bed and bookshelves filled with books from the last people who lived here. All her anger and sadness from moving vanished, she loved this room. Her mother smiled and told her dinner was in an hour, and to explore the house some more. Riley quickly nodded and ushered her mother out of the room. She set down the boxes and began to explore the room. She peeled back the curtain on the window and found something surprising. It was a framed picture of a little girl and her mother. Riley guessed it was from the family who lived here before. Beside it was a music box, it was square with a clock in its center and phone on top. Checking her phone, she saw that the clock was correct about the time. She picked it up and turned the switch on the back, it played a haunting melody that gave Riley shivers.
“Oh! Hello!” A child’s voice said from behind. Whipping around, Riley came face to face with a spirt of a young girl, Mabey eight. “No ones been here since I died, it has been sooooo lonely,” The girl said flopping on the bed, then she got up and came over to Riley, Riley stood perfectly still, not daring to move a muscle. “Now that I think about, do I know you?” The ghost said,
“I-i don’t think so” Riley stuttered. “What are you? And what’s your name?” Riley said. The ghost lit up and said,
“Oh! Sorry for not introducing myself! My name is Lilly Anne and I am an object ghost. That means I died and my spirit became attached to an object, probably because I have to watch over one of my descendants or I am holding on to something and can’t let go. I am attached to the music box.”
“Oh, ok,” Riley said, “Um, my name is Riley Avens and I am 16 years old”
“Cool! My last name is Avens to! Mabey you are one of my descendants and I’m here to protect you!” Lilly Anne said gleefully. That got Riley thinking,
“What year did you die?” She said,
“Um, I think 2016? About 30 years ago. Why?”
“Oh, just a hunch” Riley responded. 30 years ago was when her mother’s sister was found dead. Riley’s mother had barely made it out alive, she had a scar down her neck to show it.
“Riley! Come down for dinner!” Her mother called from downstairs
“Coming mom!” She called back, “I have to go,” She told Lilly Anne
“Oh ok, also, one thing that you must remember is to always play my music box before you go to bed. The bad man will come and kill you if you don’t, as he did to me.” Lilly Anne Said shaking.
“Um ok,” Riley said, She wasn’t too worried.
After dinner and clean up. Riley went back upstairs
“Lilly Anne? Lilly Anne?” Riley said,
“Why would you say her name?” Her mother said from behind
“You know her? Shes short has her hair in pigtails, about eight?” Riley said
“Why would I not know my own sister?” Her mother said
“She is your sister?”
“Yes, this is the house she died in.” Her mother said
“SISTER” Lilly Anne materialized in front of Riley, “Oh! I’m so happy your back I thought you would never come back” Riley’s mother looked shocked.
“I must be hallucinating, first my sister and now my daughter,” She said under her breath and went to her room. Lilly Anne looked hurt and embarrassed, she went into Riley’s room and sat on the bed.
“So I’m your aunt,” She said. Riley nodded, “Listen to me Riley, if you ever forget to play the music box, the bad man will come, you must never tell him where I am, do you understand?
“Ok…” Riley said with uncertainty. Lilly Anne evaporated and was gone. Riley went to bed, she wanted to see the bad man.
At around 2:30 in the morning Riley woke up with a start, something smelled horrible. When she looked up there was a man with no face standing above her.
“Whereeeeeee issss thhheeeee girlll” The things words where slurred.
“I-i d-d-don’t know” Riley cried. The thing hissed and disappeared. It went on like this for the next three months. One day, Riley had had enough.
“Lilly Anne! Listen to me, I think you cant pass on because you are scared of this “Bad Man” You need to stand up to him, like a school bully.”
“Y-you think I could do that?” The girl stuttered
“YES, he is here because of you, you are the only one who can make him go away.”
“I will try” Lilly Anne gave a weak smile
That night, as usual, Riley woke up to bad breath
“Whereeeeeee issss thhheeeee girlll” The thing said. Tonight was going to be different, tonight they were going to get rid of this man.
“She is over there,” Riley said pointing to where Lilly Anne was standing. The monster slithered over to Lilly Anne.
“I’M NOT SCARED OF YOU, I DONT CARE THAT YOU KILLED ME, OR THAT YOU ARE MY DAD, I AM NOT SCARED OF YOU” Lilly Anne screamed with tears in her eyes. The monster looked at her strange and then slithered away out the window. Lilly Anne collapsed crying. Riley hopped off the bed and ran over to her.
“What do you mean dad, are you saying that was my grandfather? Riley said
“Yes, that was my father he abused my mother and me and my sister, he was always drunk and was doing bad drugs. We never called him Dad, he was a monster or the bad man. He killed me and tried to kill your mother. Thank you for helping me face my fears.” Lilly Annes spirt began to denigrate into little balls of light and began to float out the window.
“Any time.” Whispered Riley.
Two months later
“Riley! Riley! They found her!” Her mother screamed
“They found Selene? My sister?!”
“Yes! Yes, they did!” Her mother cried. Riley smiled now everything was ok, her sister was found, Lilly Anne was at peace, her Grandfather had been dealt with. It was going to be ok.
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