Page 52 of Trick or Stalk

Did I?

I look at the stepladder still folded beside the porch railing. I remember standing here, looking at the ghost. My arms and legs were aching. I was tired.

I specifically remember telling myself I'll fix it tomorrow.

A chill runs across my skin.

“Weird.”

Penny sniffs one of the grocery bags.

“I didn’t do this. Right, Penny?”

She lifts her head.

I step closer to the ghost. Maybe the wind fixed it.

I stare at the fabric.

Could it?

It was twisted around the string earlier.

Maybe another gust caught it and spun it in the opposite direction.

That's possible. Right?

Of course it is.

Wind moves things. That's literally what wind does.

I glance at the trees. Branches sway overhead. Colorful leaves tumble across the yard.

“It was only the wind.”

Penny looks up at me. Her tail wags.

“Exactly.”

I reach for the grocery bags, still bothered. Then I freeze.

The string.

I straighten.

Earlier, the fabric wasn't the only thing twisted.

The string was, too.

I remember looking at it and knowing I'd have to climb onto the stepladder to straighten it.

I look at the ghost again.

The string isn't twisted anymore. It's perfectly straight.

My stomach tightens.

Maybe I'm remembering wrong. Maybe I fixed it.