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…
