Thursday, July 28, 2016

Diary of a Struggling Student Entry Two



July 28, 2016

Dear Diary,

I am having so much fun!!!  But, the wait is killing me.

We left very early in the morning because dad wanted to get everything set up before supper.  We drove three hours to get to Baxter State Park.  It took us another 30 minutes to get to Sandy Stream where we set up camp.  This year my dad got a lean-to for my mom.  That is like a room where one side of the wall is missing.  Mom did not want to sleep on the ground and did not want to be in a leaky tent if it rained.  So Dad and Mom have the lean-to and the rest of us have a tent.

The tent is great.  It actually has two rooms.  We put a lot of the supplies in the first room and the sleeping bags in the other.  There are no places to go and buy anything around here.  We had to bring it all in with us.
 
We have a campfire every night and that is one of the best parts of camping.  We all sit around the fire and each person has one night where they have to tell a ghost story.  Mom and Dad did the first two nights and then it was my turn. 
 
I waited for everyone to get ready, that means go to the outhouse and get whatever you want to munch on because if you leave the fire, the storyteller does not stop.  I hate to miss any part of the story.  I make sure I have everything I need to eat and drink. 
 
Here is the story I told.  I am really good at telling stories.  I am not good at writing though.  In school, we have to write about what we did or sometimes stuff we don’t know anything about.  I always get mine back and it is never good news.  I wish we could choose to write or tell stories.  Wouldn’t that be a great class!  I would sign up for two!  I think this is where I would be told I am “off topic.”

Well now here is the story I told:

It all started when I went to get some water from the stream to cook supper.  I accidentally dropped the pan into the stream and it started to float away.  I took off my shoes and jumped in to get the pan.  The stream started to run faster and faster.  The pan was just beyond my reach when I fell and started to go downstream.  I went to scream for help but got a mouthful of water.  I could also feel something pulling on my leg.  I thought it was a branch but it was getting tighter and tighter.  I was moving very fast now and thought I was never going to get out.  I saw a branch hanging over the water and grabbed at it.  I had it for a brief second and then it broke off and I was on my way again!  There was definitely a hand on my leg.  I could not turn around to see what it was but I could feel the fingers or something like fingers.  I knew I was in serious trouble.  Then, as quickly as it started, the water slowed down again.  I quickly looked to see what was on my leg.  There was nothing there.  I got up and got out of the water.  I looked down at my leg and could definitely see the red marks where something was holding on to me.  I heard a noise in the bushes near the edge of the water but when I looked nothing was there.  I could see the bushes were still moving.  At least they looked like they were moving.

I had to walk back to our campsite and then explain how I lost a perfectly good pan in the water.  I figured I would walk back up along the stream until I came to the path that goes to our campsite.  I started walking back up the stream. Not so easy without shoes! I didn’t think it would be far because I wasn’t in the water that long.  I walked for about 15 minutes and still I did not come to the path.  Nothing looked familiar either.  I continued to walk on and then I heard a noise behind me.  I turned and this time even though there was nothing there, the bushes were moving.  I ran to the bushes and tried to see what was making them move.  I figured it would be some kind of animal like a squirrel or bird.  There was nothing there.  I mean nothing.  No tracks, no animal, no sound, nothing!

I started to walk further up the stream and I still could not see the path.  I knew I hadn’t gone that far and it wasn’t that late but I could not find the path and it was getting dark.  You do not want to be in the woods in the dark with no tools or supplies.  I knew that mom and dad were going to be wondering where I went.  I was surprised they were not out looking for me or calling my name.  I decided to try yelling to them.  I called as loud as I could, “DAD”. 
 
At the exact same time a hand went over my mouth and cut off the yell.  I heard a voice say, “Do not yell again or you will die!”

This is where my mother said, “That is enough.  You need to tell a different story.  This is too scary.  Nobody will sleep tonight!”
  
“I was just getting to the good part!”  I said.  “It is supposed to be scary.  It is a ghost story.”  I looked at my dad to see if he would help me. 
 
He said, “Why don’t we stop here for tonight and your mother and I will talk about it.  Tomorrow night you can either continue or tell a different story depending on what we decide.” 
 
I still haven’t heard from them and the campfire is only about 4 hours away.  I hate waiting…

No comments:

Post a Comment