The Sighting

By Cayce B. Shelton

You will not find this story in any mysteries of the twentieth century. You'd have to really search to find anything published about it at all. No one would remember the girls, except maybe their kinfolks if any are alive. And I guess, seeing as how it's been fifty years, nearly everybody involved is probably dead. I just came from Joe's funeral.

Joe, Bob, and Dan were a team of sorts back then. They lived close, played close, and damn near killed each other a time or two. Bob was the oldest and the biggest. Joe was a few months younger than Bob and Dan was younger still. I was not part of that team seeing as how I was five years younger than Dan. Joe and I worked together, and over the years he had related enough pieces of the story that I finally am able to tell it in its entirety.

The mockingbird cocked his head and looked down at the three boys in the clearing. As the bird flitted from one limb to another, twittering away, the boys paid him no heed. The hot Texas sun illuminating the surrounding golden fields could not penetrate the heavy foliage hiding the clearing. The croak of frogs, the cheep of little birds and the screech of katydids filled the air.

"I don't see why you have to eat so much," Joe stated through gritted teeth.

Bob glanced sideways at his friend as he took a large bite from the sandwich in his beefy hands. He knew Joe was just goading him, trying to get half of the sandwich. He grinned sloppily at Joe, his mouth making exaggerated movements of chewing as he swung the sandwich by Joe's nose, his laugh sounding more like a pig than a human. Joe snickered at the snorting sound and then fell over sideways, laughing out loud. Dan followed suit soon enough.

As the sound of delirious laughter decreased to just a grunt from Joe, the boys lay in the bed of leaves and stared at the bright blue-sky overhead. The flight of buzzards, hawks, and other smaller birds passing in and out of their view did not elicit any comment from either lad.

"I really like laying here looking up. I can nearly see the stars. I bet if the sun wasn't so bright, you could see some stars," Joe said.

Dan spoke lazily, "You couldn't see the stars if the sun was covered up by the moon, idiot. The stars have to reflect the suns rays for you to see them, that's why you can see them only at night," he finished partly guessing.

Joe replied, "Yeah, and Bob couldn't see them anyhow cause his eyes would be all swollen up from eating that sandwich." Joe turned his head toward Bob just as the heavy lad threw a handful of leaves.

"Hey, watch with the leaves." Joe threw up his hand to ward off the shower of black, brown, orange and green.

Bob griped without anger, "You should have brought your own crap. Why didn't you eat something 'fore you got here? Aren't you eating anymore? I thought you went on a diet anyhow."

Joe glared and retaliated, "Yeah, and I hear you went on a diet, too. A seafood diet; you see food, you eat it." All three boys laughed at the joke.

"I bet there must have been ten million frogs born in this creek," Dan said.

Bob followed, "I bet there were probably twenty million born 'cause they had to feed so many folks for so long." He and Dan turned to look at Joe as he joined in.

"You both are full of it, you know. I bet there weren't enough frogs in this creek to feed one family, let alone a whole troop of pioneers," Joe said. "And anyhow, it would take a mess of frog legs, probably more than all of us could catch, come to think of it, to feed one family. You remember when we tried to catch them frogs last year," he finished.

Bob and Dan nodded at Joe and all three boys turned to watch the few frogs moving near the water's edge. Dan threw a twig that hit near one of the larger frogs and as it jumped in the water, the side of the creek came alive with jumping frogs.

"See what I mean, guys?" Dan did not look at his friends as he grinned. The other two boys did not respond to the question.

"I wonder if Diane is gonna to go to the dance with me," Joe mused out loud.

"Why in hell would she go with somebody as ugly as you, Joe?" Bob's banter did not bother Joe; he was used to it.

"I bet it's 'cause of that curl of hair that always hangs down his forehead." Dan winked at Bob.

Bob grinned back and kept up the friendly ridicule, "Or maybe it's them waves on his head. I bet she thinks they're natural waves. I bet she don't know they're there cause his old lady creased his brain with a rollin pin."

Dan kept at his friend, "Yeah, and I bet she don't know how little his thing is, either."

At this, Joe rolled to his feet, gathering a large armful of leaves and twigs as he came up. Bob and Dan laughed and tried to fend off the attack as Joe lunged at them, showering them with the load of brush in his arms. The birds and frogs sought other places to go as the clearing echoed the grunts and laughter of the three twelve-year-old males, exerting themselves against each other.

Bob and Joe, their arms around each other's head, rolled away from Dan, stopping just as they started to slide into the water.

"Shit, let go, Bob. Your gonna get us wet," Joe cried out.

"Well, let go of me, and I'll let go of you," screamed Bob.

"There, lard ass, get wet by yourself," Joe said, releasing Bob.

"Being a lard ass is better than being a dumb ass," Bob retorted. The two boys snarled at each other and then burst into a fit of laughter.

Bob was still laughing in little grunts as he saw Joe freeze in mid air, his arms outstretched. Bob looked to where his friend was staring and gasped when he saw Dan, also frozen in an awkward position, sitting on his butt, one leg outstretched, one arm on the ground behind him, the other raised as if fending off a blow to his head.

Bob moved quickly, reaching to pull Joe after him as he stepped up the bank toward Dan. Joe hit the ground with a grunt as Bob released the hold on his shirt.

"Dan?" Bob called in a whisper.

"What's wrong with him?" Joe asked.

"God, I don't know. Looks like he's in a trance or something," Bob said.

"Well, touch him and see if he jumps," Joe whispered.

Bob grunted a little laugh and whispered back, "If he did jump, I'd pee in my pants."

"Well, I ain't gotta pee, so I'll do it," Joe said, moving.

Joe carefully squatted near the still form of Dan. Bob had moved to the other side of their friend, a worried look on his face. Joe spoke in a soft voice, "I bet he's dead."

Bob frowned and replied in a loud whisper, "Shit, stupid, he ain't dead. Can't you see his shirt moving?"

"Yeah, I see it, but that only means he's breathing, it don't mean he ain't dead," Joe replied, angrily.

Bob spoke disgustedly, "Dead is dead. You don't breathe when you're dead. Touch him and see if he's alive."

Joe held his breath as he reached out toward Dan. As his fingers closed on the thin brightly colored cotton shirt covering the frail chest of his friend, the frozen boy thawed out in a flash. As Dan rolled over and pushed himself rapidly to his feet, Joe and Bob screamed and rolled away from their friend.

"What in hell's the matter with you guys?" Dan asked, looking anxiously at each of them in turn.

"What's the matter with you is more the question, Dan?" Joe said as he got to his feet.

"What do you mean, what's the matter with me?" Dan asked.

"You're the one acting like you were in a trance," Joe said, pointing his finger at Dan.

"I wasn't in no trance." Dan said with wonder on his face.

"Well, you could have fooled me, boy." Bob joined in the conversation without an invitation.

"When was I in this trance?" Dan asked.

"Just a minute ago. You was moving to get off the ground and you just froze like a statue," Bob exclaimed.

"And you were staring straight ahead like you was watching something," Joe stated.

"Oh." The sound Dan made was more of a groan than just an exclamation.

"Well, if you weren't in no trance, where in hell were you?" Bob asked.

Dan said simply, "I saw a ghost."

The response to his simple statement caused a riot of words to pour forth from the listeners. "A ghost---no shit---yeah, I bet-you got rocks in your-get out of here---there ain't no ghosts-I bet---shit." Suddenly the clearing was silent. Bob and Joe jerked their heads around, searching, as Dan stood, staring ahead, the clothing covering his frail frame moving as his body shook.

Dan spoke in a loud whisper, "I saw a girl, about our age, with blue eyes and yellow hair. She just suddenly appeared, right in front of me. I couldn't move. I just stared at her as she looked at me. She was smiling, too. I guess she's the most beautiful thing I ever saw."

"I bet he's lost his mind." Bob directed his statement toward Joe although he had not taken his eyes off of Dan.

"Yeah, I bet that's what's wrong all right." Joe's agreement was fast in coming, his head nodding rapidly.

Dan continued, "And she didn't say a word. Just looked at me. I couldn't move, I know, 'cause I think I was too scared. But, you know, she didn't scare me; I know it now." Dan sat down and then lay back on the leaves, putting his hands under his head.

Bob and Joe watched the skinny boy as Dan sighed and closed his eyes. Without another word, the other two boys followed their friend to the bed on the creek bank.

Dan's words brought the other boys out of their daydream with a shock, "I figured it out, guys. I think I had a vision because of that pain I have in my head."

"You didn't say anything about a pain in your head, Dan." Joe didn't open his eyes as he spoke.

"Yeah, I know. I didn't think anything about it until now. I always get a pain in the side of my head when my old man beats me," Dan said lamely.

Bob opened his eyes and turned to face his scary friend. "What'd he beat you for this time?" he asked.

"Hell, he don't need a reason, especially when he's drunk. Beat the shit out of Ma, too. I bet he's gonna kill her someday," Dan almost shouted.

Joe exclaimed suddenly, looking at the ground, "I'm glad my old man ain't around to beat me like that. If he'd known that I had Diane in my bedroom with nearly all her clothes off, he would have killed me for sure."

Dan jumped on the statement, "Hah, yeah, right, nearly all her clothes off. That'll be the day. I bet Diane wouldn't even take her glasses off if she was alone with you, buddy!"

"And how in shit could you ever get her to your room, anyhow?" Bob asked frowning at Joe.

"Well, I just dazzled her with my footwork and blinded her with my bullshit, somehow," Joe grinned, using his hands as if he were lifting something.

"Bullshit is right, man. You are full of that, for sure." Bob led the way into a fit of laughter as first Dan and then Joe followed. The ghost was forgotten.

As the hot summer sun dipped into the horizon, the bright blue canopy over the creek clearing turned a darker shade.

"We better get out of here, guys. I don't want another beating tonight," Dan stated as he got to his feet. His friends followed his lead.

Joe brushed off his pants as he looked at Dan. "Yeah, me neither. What am I saying? I wouldn't get a beating if I stayed out till midnight. 'Course, I don't want to test that theory, no how."

"I won't get no beating, but if I don't get home in time, Mom won't give me nothing to eat." Bob was hurrying out of the clearing.

Close behind his chubby friend, Joe could not resist, "Well, we sure don't want you to miss no meal, oink, oink."

Bob was swift in reply. He had turned, shoved Joe down and turned back to the tunnel before Joe hit the ground. Bob did not react to the question behind him.

"Hell, fire, man, what did you push me down for," Joe cried out as he struggled with the brush that entangled him.

"If you said oink, oink to me, I'd probably push you down, too," Dan stated as he stepped over his friend to follow Bob.

Suddenly, Dan let out a surprised grunt as Bob hit him broadside, knocking him backward to land on Joe who squawked in pain. Then, as Bob fell on the two of them, all three boys began to holler and shove at each other.

"Get the hell off-what in hell you doing-Jesus, get-she's here-what? -Ghost-ghost? -Get off-let's go--."

All three boys, dirty and damp from the ground cover, got to their feet and froze in place as each saw the golden glow between them and the tunnel. For several seconds the frightened boys could not move, taking in the blue eyes, the golden hair and the colored dress covering the form below the beautiful young face of a girl, shimmering in the air a few feet above the ground.

Then, with a collective scream, they turned to run. Reaching the far end of the clearing, with no way out, they turned to face the girl, moving up behind them. Holding tight to one another, the boys watched breathlessly as the golden glow moved around them.

When the ghost had moved to the side of the clearing, Joe screamed and ran toward the tunnel. Golden light filled the clearing as the other two screaming boys followed their friend. The bright ghost light did not follow the boys as they burst into the growing darkness outside of the clearing and ran across the field, each headed home.