The Gathering!

[Ghostwriter1983]

The Gathering!

It was my first security check of the twenty acre wrecking yard. It was the midnight shift, and the cold November winds blew a chill against my neck. I had my partner King, a two year old German shepherd on his leash. I was hired by Mr. Johnson, the owner, since a string of thefts had occurred. Tires, car seats, car stereos, parts easily sold or traded.

As I listened, the wind rustled papers and leaves from the grove of oak trees. From time to time, King would growl and pull hard on his leash, but I would pull back just as hard. There was broken glass and sharp metal pieces to cut his feet, so we had to stick to the roads criss-crossing the wrecking yard. Suddenly, King stopped and began wagging his tail as if he had seen an old friend.

I shined my flashlight ahead of us and to the left and right, but saw no one. I patted his head and asked him what he had seen. He looked at me for a second and then continued to look ahead into the darkness. The clouds had parted and the full moon light cast a soft glow on all the wrecked cars, trucks, vans and SUV's. Then, I felt myself falling as I tripped on something I hadn't seen.

I let go of King's leash as my flashlight fell to the ground as King ran ahead. I called out to him several times, but he didn't come back to me, which was not like King. Damn, my knee hurt, I told myself. My uniform trouser was smudged with greasy dirt, but not torn. Suddenly, I could have sworn that I heard the laughter of a small child, carried on the night winds.

I picked up my flashlight and went searching for my dog. Then I saw her, a little blonde haired girl about seven, wearing blue jeans and a pink powder puffs t-shirt, with her long hair blowing in the wind. She wore a blue jean jacket as she held King's paw in her hand and she petted him. King was excitedly licking her hand.

As the beam of my flashlight shone on her, she looked startled and then as I approached, she asked, "Is this your dog?" I told her, “Yes.” and she hugged his neck with both her tiny hands and said, "I like your dog." I looked nervously around, because I knew she wouldn't be here all by herself. Her dad, maybe mom too, were somewhere in the wrecking yard.

"Your mom and dad I'm sure are worried about you." I said, but she shook her head no. There was laughter in her eyes and the moon light made her eyes sparkle. "Mom and Dad don't worry about me." she said and I heard her giggle. My first reaction was, how stupid. Bringing a small child to a place where she could get hurt, just so they could steal stuff. I asked her what her name was and she told me her name was Anna Grace Brown.

"What's your dog's name?” she asked. I smiled and said, "His name is King." Then I asked Anna, “Can you take me to where your mom and dad are, I need to talk to them?" She looked up at me with a childlike innocence and said, "Sure, follow me." At first she wanted to take a short cut between rows of wrecked vehicles stacked three high and I called out to her.

"Anna, King can't go that way, he could cut his feet, we have to stay on the dirt road." I told her. She gave me a puzzled look, then came back to me and walked ahead of me. It took us awhile to reach a small clearing, near some maple trees and the full moon lit up the wrecking yard. Suddenly, Anna ran farther ahead of me and I saw at least 50 people gathered. There were many children playing and running as adults talked with each other as if they were at a Saturday afternoon barbeque.

I watched Anna run to a couple who I assumed they were her mom and dad and they both looked directly at me. Suddenly, everyone stopped what they were doing. Everything was quiet as they stared at me and then, they all vanished. I stood there frozen as I watched King walk ahead. When he reached the area where the spirits had been, he lay down on all fours and began to howl so forlorn.

The moon bathed his dark fur in an eerie glow as the wind blew. I felt chills running up and down my spine in a way I’d never felt before. I leaned back against the wreck of a Wrangler Jeep and it suddenly became very clear to me. I looked left to right at all the wrecked and twisted hulks. There were trucks, cars, vans and SUV's. Yes, it became all too clear to me and it brought sadness to my heart.

Men, women and children had been riding in these vehicles. Many of them died in their seats and now, well, now they gathered here, as family and friends. They were caught between this world and the world beyond. They lingered here in this place, and me? I stumbled onto where they had gathered and now, they were gone. It was then, that I could have sworn something had bumped my knee.

I looked down and saw nothing, but the sensation was very real. I called out for King to come to me, but he ignored me. So, I walked over to where he lay and picked up his leash. But before I could finish my patrol check of the wrecking yard, I saw Anna appear next to King. She was hugging King around his neck as I felt his tail hitting my knee again and again. "Please. Can your dog stay with me?" she asked as she looked up into my eyes.

"I'll take good care of him, I promise." she said. I knelt down on one knee and began patting the back of King’s head. "I can't Anna, I know you like him, but King must stay with me." I said. Tears rolled down her face as she looked into King's deep brown eyes. "I miss my dog Oscar so much." she said and suddenly, she was hugging me. Sobbing, with her little arms around my neck as she laid her head against my shoulder.

"I know little one. I know you miss Oscar. I'm sure that he misses you too." I said as I patted her shoulder. I could feel tears rolling down my cheeks as I looked behind King and saw Anna's mom and dad smiling and nodding at me. I raised my hand and waved hi to them and they waved back. Anna looked back at her parents and said, "I have to go now, momma's calling my name. I hope I will get to see King again."

As her finger touched a tear on my cheek, I smiled into innocent eyes and said, "I hope so too Anna." As she ran back to momma's arms, she was picked up and hugged and all three disappeared. Instead of continuing my check of the wrecking yard, I stood and looked around for a few minutes. I wondered what could be done to make this more of a special place for those spirits who lingered here.

As I wiped my eyes, I felt a smile began to grow as I envisioned a play ground for children, with benches and picnic tables for parents to sit on. The grove of tall oak trees was level, and the perfect place. Then, I felt my smile begin to fade, because I realized that I would have to get the approval of the owner. That meant I would have to explain what I had seen here tonight.

What would he think? Would he think I made it up or had been drinking on the job? For the rest of that shift, I thought about what I would say and how it might sound crazy. A play ground for ghosts? A special meeting place for ghosts to gather? Perhaps, if I offered to pay for it out of my pocket and even assemble it he might agree. Maybe he would humor me and just say, "Go for it."

At the end of my shift, I left a note on the owner’s desk, asking if I could talk to him that afternoon. Just about 3 p.m. as I pulled up in front of the small trailer office, Mr. Johnson was stepping out onto the porch with a cup of coffee. The sky was clear and the sun warm for November, as he waved his cup and smiled at me. The first words he spoke when I got out of my truck were, "Ya got a serious look on your face Raymond.

Help yourself to some coffee inside and take a chair out here with me, I got your note." When I stepped back out onto the porch with a cup of hot chocolate warming my hand, he motioned for me to take a chair. I sat down, but was silent. I sat there, hoping to find an easy way to say what was on my mind. But the more I stalled, the less the words came to me and I felt his eyes staring at me. Finally, I began to speak.

"Mr. Johnson, I've been giving something a lot of thought." I said nervously. I could feel my face beginning to turn red as I began to tell him what I had seen last night. “I believe there are ghosts in your wrecking yard, sir. Fact is I saw them last night on my rounds, near the grove of oak trees." I said. Well, there was no turning back now. I had said it. I waited nervously for his response. He looked directly into my eyes sternly as if he didn't believe me.

Then, I saw his smile grow, his eyes soften, almost tear filled, as if I had lifted a heavy burden from him."I’ve seen several of the ghosts myself. I wasn't sure if you would see them, Raymond. That's why I said nothing when I hired you. I feel bad for all the folks that have died in those wrecks. Damn shame, for the innocent to die due to careless drivers.” he said with sadness. I felt that was the perfect idea to share my idea. "Mr. Johnson, I have an idea I’d like to share with you.

That grove of oak trees down there is nice and flat, almost level. It’s the perfect size to erect a playground, some benches and picnic tables. I think the spirits that gather there would love a place that offered them a place to sit and a place for their children to play. I'm even willing to buy the materials and do the labor on my time off, that is, if you don't have any plans for that flat area?" I said nervously.

I could see a hesitation in his eyes and then he began to speak. "I don't think that your buying what you described to me is such a good idea. After all, this is my wrecking yard, my property." he said. Suddenly, he broke into laughter and said, "But by all that’s holy, Raymond, I'll buy what you need and help you get it put together." I could feel tears forming in my eyes as I watched tears fill Mr. Johnson's eyes as I said "Thank you."

"Go into my office and get that clipboard sitting on my desk, Raymond and draw out what your playground would look like." Mr. Johnson said. I said, "Ok." and in a moment, I was back scribbling a rough layout of what it might look like. He studied my drawing and then changed a couple things, before handing it back to me. My eyes told him I approved as I handed the drawing back to him, without words spoken.

"I'll go on-line before I close the office Raymond and order the stuff. "I'll give you a call on when it’s supposed to be delivered. Do you think we could finish it in a day?" he asked. I told him, that if we both worked, we should get it built in a full day. He reached over and shook my hand and thanked me for coming up with such a wonderful idea.

I stood and said, “Mr. Johnson. I just want to thank you for agreeing to build a place for them. I have to go now.” I said quickly as tears began to fill my eyes. I looked away and told him, he was a very kind man. Once in my truck, I backed up as fast as I could so he wouldn't see me crying. When I came to work that evening, I found a note in my box, telling me that the the playground equipment and bench materials would be delivered this coming Thursday.

Coincidently, that just happened to be my day off. Over the next couple of nights as I patrolled, I didn't see Anna, her parents, nor anyone. I held onto King's leash firmly. When Thursday morning came, I arrived early at the wrecking yard, before the large freight truck arrived. Both Mr. Johnson and I stepped out of the office when the truck pulled into the lot.

He signed Bill Of Lading and the two men unloaded all of the materials. Mr. Johnson fired up his fork lift, which made getting everything to the play ground area very easy. I drove his truck down to the area with all the tools I thought we would need. Just before Dusk, the last nuts and bolts were tightened and with sweat on our brows and blisters on our palms, we stood there, proud of all we had accomplished.

Three picnic benches, six benches, a merry go round, a swing set with 4 swings, a teeter totter and a slide, spaced out perfectly had been assembled. As I put the tools in the back of the truck, Mr. Johnson approached me and shook my hand once more. When I tried to thank him, he stopped me, mid-sentence and told me, “It’s I, who thank you for caring enough to come up with such a wonderful idea Raymond.

If you see them tonight, tell them, that it was the least ‘we’ could do." and I said I would. He shook my hand and we both turned away from each other and we knew why. I arrived on time the next night for my shift and King was eager for his first round. It was a crisp, clear night, but no wind. As we approached the grove of oak trees, I was taken by surprise at what I saw.

All of the spirits were waiting, waiting for me. I saw men, women and children of all ages waving at me. Anna climbed down from her daddy's arms and ran to me and at the last moment I released King, who met her with kisses, as she squeezed him tight. Then she ran to me and held up her arms and I picked her up and we both hugged. King was trying to jump up too as I pushed him off.

She practically choked me, hugging me tight as I whispered "Hi Anna." As I looked over at the spirits, I swear there were tears in their eyes as Anna's mom and dad waved again. "Mom and dad, well, all of us, especially us kids want to say thank you for all you've done." Tears were rolling down her cheeks as my tears fell too. "Anna, I said, it was my idea, but Mr. Johnson bought all the stuff and helped me build it."

"I know Raymond, I was watching. We all were watching and we will never forget either of you." she said. I kissed her cheek and let her down as she hugged King one last time. I watched her wave goodbye before running back to momma. Then, all the children began to run to their favorite toy to play on as adults headed for benches and tables, waving to me now and then. I took King's leash and continued my rounds, leaving them in peace.

©2002 Raymond Cook (All rights reserved)