As the day closed in, Jack became ill at ease with his own redirected route. Oh! He had climbed the cliffs before, but never in these weather conditions, and certainly not this late in the evening, he knew oh so well, that if he didn’t make haste, the night would close before he reached the top. As luck would have it, the weather abated, the rain had eased to a mere drizzle, the wind to a light breeze. And so he made his way carefully and cautiously up the steep winding cliffs.
He was nearing the top, when he suddenly realised he had taken a wrong turn, the path, such as it was, had petered out, leaving a very tricky way forward indeed; across slippery rocks and shingle; with a sheer drop either side. But, if he were to turn back now, it would be hours before he reached his destination; his parents would be gripped in the throws of panic. So, resolute and unrelenting, Jack continued along his arduous mission, until he reached a point from where he could no longer proceed, retreat offered no solution. Jacks dilemma seemed mountainous; there seemed no easy exit.
The day’s light was diminishing rapidly. Jacks panic gripped him tightly; he needed to reach the top before the light faded. He scrutinized his location, scanning for any signs of help. Just then, a voice, a sweet friendly voice belonging to a girl, filled the air.
“Are you alright there? You look as if you are in a bit of a pickle, would you like a hand?”
Jacks anguished eyes searched for the source of these utterances, he saw nothing. Did his ears deceive him? Was it the wind playing tricks on him?
“Hey! Don’t look so shocked and worried,” Came the sweet voice once more.
“Who is that?” Spluttered Jack nervously, “where are you hiding?”
“I’m here silly.”
And there, in front of Jack, true enough, stood a girl about the age of himself, her wavy, blonde hair flowed to her waist, she was waif like, pale in complexion, slightly gaunt, but her piercing blue eyes sent out a radiation of warmth. She walked sure-footedly across the rocks towards Jack.
“ Follow me, I’ll show you the way,” whispered the girl, “ that is, if you want to?”
The girl offered her hand to Jack, Jack hesitated, she seemed friendly enough, but he really didn’t know her.
“Honestly!” giggled the girl. “ I wont bite you.”
With that, they exchanged smiles, held hands and continued on their way, the girl obviously knowing the cliffs well, so assured did she place her feet. As they neared the top of the cliff, the boy asked.
“Do you ever get scared, in case you fall?”
“Oh no!” said the girl, “I fell once, I will never let that happen again”.
“Were you hurt when you fell?” queried Jack sincerely.
“ It could have been very serious.”
“ What happened?”
The girl sighed deeply, “I too got lost once. If it weren’t for this stranger, I surly would have died. He offered his helpful hand to me, but as I reached out, I lost my footing and slipped, I ending up clinging to the edge of the cliff.”
“ That must have been so scary!” exclaimed Jack.
“ It was, but scarier than that, was the fact that the stranger disappeared right after rescuing me.”
“ How odd! Maybe he was a ghost,” chuckled Jack.
“Ghost? I don’t believe in ghosts,” said the girl, plainly amused by Jacks comments.
“ Neither do I,” said Jack defensively, in an attempt to mask his fears.
Embarrassed at this, Jack thanked the girl profusely, bid her farewell, and continued his journey home.
“Ghosts!” said the girl as she watched him leave.
“What a peculiar notion.”
Most close-knit neighbourhoods have strange ghost stories, as it happened, this community was not unusual in that fact. As this urban- legend would have it, the cliffs were inhabited by a ghost, a ghost who lead people to their deaths, an offering of a helping hand soon saw those who trusted it, plunged fatally off the treacherous cliffs.
Was this just a legend to stop foolish children climbing the cliffs and hurting themselves? Or, was it something, far more supernatural?
What do you think?
Jack never saw the girl ever again.
