Gale and the Girl

 

Gale played Frisbee in the park, by himself. He would throw it, run, pick it up, then throw it again. The game was not complicated. His mother insisted that he play in the park every Saturday.
After thirty minutes, he decided to forage for some nuts under the pecan trees. He was hungry and did not bring a snack. He didn't want to go home and get the third degree questioning about whether or not he made any friends. In fact, he picked this park specifically because there were hardly ever any people there.
 

He had his shirt pulled up into a pocket, filling it with nuts. Then, he saw her. She stared at him from the other tree. Freckles were the prominent feature on her face, a face framed by strawberry blond shoulder length hair. Her face was awkward looking, but not in a bad way. She carried a sheepish smile and emitted a sultry sweet essence.
 

“Hi.” she said.
 

“Hi.”
 

“What’s your name?”
 

“Gale. You?”
 

“I’m Cassandra. I’m eleven. How old are you?”
 

“Ten…almost eleven.”
 

“Are you looking for food?”
 

Gale let go of his shirt dropping the nuts on the ground. “No.”
 

“Yes you were. I saw you picking up nuts. How were you planning on opening them?”
 

“I don’t know. A rock? I saw a squirrel take some. If he can do it, I'm sure I can figure it out. It can't be that hard.”
 

“Here, I usually only eat half.” She handed him half of her peanut butter sandwich. “Wait,” she pulled it back “you’re not allergic to peanuts are you?”
 

“No.”
 

“Good, I knew someone who was.”
 

Gale took a bite as he sat in front of her. “I've never seen you here before.”
 

“My family just moved here from California. I don’t have any friends yet. Want to be my friend?”
 

“Do you like Frisbee?”
 

“I’ve never thrown one, but I saw you doing it. It can’t be that hard.”
 

“I guess I could use a Frisbee partner.”
 

“That's so nice of you,” she said sarcastically.
 

Gale spent that afternoon playing Frisbee with Cassandra. She was fun and energetic. She helped him find different ways to open pecans. She laughed at all his jokes, some of which he didn't know were jokes. It was the best three hours of his life.
 

“I have to go home now,” Cassandra said, looking at her watch. “It’s almost dinner time.”
 

“Me too.”
 

“I had fun.”
 

“I had fun too. Can we play tomorrow?” Gale held up the Frisbee.
 

“Sure, just come by my house and get me.”
 

“Where do you live?”
 

“Right there,” she pointed to a light green house on the street opposite the park. Gale had seen the For Sale sign up for months. He had not noticed it came down, but it was not there now.
 

“Is ten okay?”
 

“Yes. Bye.”
 

“Bye.”
 

Gale couldn't decide whether the moment deserved a hug, or at least a handshake. As he was thinking, she was already sprinting home.
 

The image of Cassandra danced in his mind as he walked home. He told his parents all about her, describing how much fun they had, and how much he liked her. He went to sleep thinking how nice it was to finally have a friend.
 

~ * ~
 

At ten o’clock sharp, Gale was knocking on the door to Cassandra’s house. A man answered. Gale figured it was Cassandra’s father.
 

“Hi, I’m Gale. Can Cassandra come out to play?”
 

The man had short curly red hair and steel framed glasses. He squinted at Gale with a look of confusion.
 

“What did you say?”
 

“I’m looking for Cassandra. I met her at the park yesterday. Can she come out? She said she could play today.” Gale leaned to the left, trying to look behind him.
 

The man leaned with him, and gave Gale a dead stare. “Son, Cassandra was my daughter. She died ten years ago.”
 

Gale’s faced flushed white when his mind registered what he heard. His eyes widened. He stepped back and looked up at the front of the house again. He looked back at the man; he had not moved. Gale tried to speak, but no words came out. He backed away slowly.
 

“Wait.” The man pulled a photo from his wallet. “Was this her?”
 

“Y-y-y-yes.” Gale stammered. His breathing quickened as he turned and ran.
 

Gale ran to the park and sat under pecan trees. He sat there for fifteen minutes. He saw the broken pecans from the day before. Tears had flooded his eyes.
 

And then he saw her again. She came running up to him. Gale did not know whether to sit still or run. He opted to remain frozen.
 

“Hey, where were you? You were supposed to meet me at my house.” she said. Gale didn’t move.
 

“What’s wrong with you? Why aren’t you answering my question?”
 

“Y-y-you. You’re not real. Y-y-you’re a ghost.”
 

“What are you talking about?”
 

“Your dad…he told me…he said you died ten years ago.”
 

She dropped to her knees and started laughing. Gale was shaking.
 

When he stood up to run home, she grabbed his arm. “Wait, I’m sorry. My dad can be a jerk sometimes. You'll get used to him.”

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