child's play

chapter 2

Abbey Stephens had just finished pulling her long platinum blonde hair up into a ponytail when a knock sounded at her bedroom door. ¨come in!¨ she called. One of her father's peaked into the room.

¨Hey sweetie, me and your father are going for a walk. Would you like to come along?¨ He asked her.

¨No, I think i'll just go hang out with Tommy.¨ she replied.

¨Ok, well, if you change your mind just call me ok?¨
¨Ok, thanks pops.¨

After that Mr.Stephens left the room and abbey grabbed her small drawstring backpack and went downstairs.

When she got downstairs she opened her bag and grabbed a water bottle, a granola bar, a pocket knife, a box of matches, a notebook, and a pen. She placed these items in her bag, closed it up, and stepped outside. She walked down the Cul De Sac of closely packed houses, that looked almost like crayons packed tightly into a tiny crayon box. When you live in a neighborhood this small it's so easy to tell which crayon is happy out of a box of sixty-four. When she arrived at Tommy's house, he was outside kneeling down over something. Tommy Blackwell was a year older than Abbey and a very adventurous boy. He loved being outside, and he absolutely loved animals. He was always poking around outside looking for a cool bug or weird shaped rock. Anything that had to do with nature really. She walked up to him and saw that he was playing with a shiny black beetle, about the size of his little finger. It was crawling around in a little circle of garden rocks that were strategically placed outside by Tommy's mother.

"Hey Tommy," Abbey began, "Wanna go to the cemetery with me today? I'm going exploring." Abbey's fathers didn't like it when she went poking around at the cemetery, or anywhere in town without an adult, because she was only ten. Although, she never really caused any trouble...that the town and her fathers were aware of, so they let her go regardless.

"Sure. I'll tag along," he picked up the beetle and stood up to face Abbey, "on one condition."

"And what would that be?" Abbey asked him, placing a hand on her hip impatiently.

"You go with me to explore that old mansion in the woods."

"And why on earth would i do that?"

"Because you believe the stories about that place, you told me so."

"There's no such thing as ghosts, and I sure don't believe in demons or blood sucking monsters either. That mansion is nothing but an empty building waiting to be torn down."

"Are you sure?" He asked her, a smile spreading across his face.

"What are you talking about?"

"A family just moved in yesterday. I saw a tall girl with long dark hair and deep cold blue eyes. She wore an old fashioned dress and a ribbon at her throat." He replied

"And what of that? How do you know for sure that she lives in the old mansion?"

"I asked her if she was knew in town and she said her family had just moved in there a few days ago." Tommy knelt down and put the beetle back into the circle of rocks.

"I don't understand why you would need to investigate them, but, I guess I can't complain. I needed to get out some more anyway," Abbey began, "Looks like you've got yourself a deal, blackwell."

Tommy ran inside, grabbed his drawstring backpack and went back out to meet Abbey. They had gotten the bags at summer camp one year and started using them for their adventures. As Tommy and Abbey walked to the cemetery they hadn't failed to find something to talk about. They both babbled on about what camps they would attend next summer, and how much summer homework they had completed. When they got to the cemetery Abbey walked past what seemed like millions of dust covered tombstones before she had finally found what she was looking for. She looked down at the small grey tombstone and tears filled her soft brown eyes.

Lillian Stephens

1973-1979

"Be no less than who you want to be"

That was her little sisters grave. She had died four years ago. Abbey's fathers had been fighting for their rights for years. They wanted a good life for their daughters, but sadly, their youngest child Lillian had died before she could even start school. Abbey and Lillian had attended a parade with her fathers to keep their rights. After the parade, Lillian had been shot by a homophobic woman in the crowd. She remembered her fathers calling the cops, but shortly after, Abbey had passed out from shock. They never caught the woman, and her baby sister would never have the future she deserved.

Abbey walked over to a small rose bush and cut of a rose with her pocket knife. She placed the rose on her sisters grave, next to the rain soaked teddy bear that had sat on her grave for the past four years. She had carried it everywhere. "Teddy is my bestest friend in the whole world!" Her sister would say happily. Abbey missed those days. Abbey turned away from her sisters grave, with red puffy eyes, and left the graveyard. As for the rose, it would wilt there until next year.