A Haunting Past
I had barely been at my new school for an hour when I started hearing rumours of “another haunting”. Curious, I asked what had happened from one of my classmates. She said that a couple of girls from another class who tried to bully a girl were pushed down a flight of stairs. Both of them had sustained multiple fractures and were in serious condition.
I learned that the hauntings had started three months ago after a girl the same age as me called Karina was found dead in the gymnasium. She had taken her own life. The hauntings had started soon after her death, and every time someone would try and bully another child, they would find themselves either scared away or seriously hurt. It depended on the severity of their actions.
Two of the three girls who had bullied Karina had left the school when the hauntings began and they were thrown off the same staircase. One had broken both her legs and the other’s face had been disfigured—same as Karina when they did the same to her. However, the third bully, Mary, had decided to remain in the school despite everything that happened. Mary was also a classmate of mine, so I approached her to learn more about why she decided to stay at the school.
Mary told me that she never left because she regretted what they did to Karina. While her two former friends saw it as an initiation since Karina had just joined their hockey team at the time, Mary had disagreed with how far they went. However, she had done nothing to stop the other two girls. Mary said that Karina had so far only called out to her as she walked alone through the halls, whispering threats to make her pay for what she did. She said she was surprised that Karina had not attacked her yet, but that she was also prepared to face any punishment that awaited her. I suggested that we speak to Karina after school was out.
That evening, the two of us went to the gymnasium and called out to Karina. Following my advice, Mary said she was willing to make amends for what she did. A sudden gust of wind surrounded us in its icy embrace. I felt the chill bite into my bones.
Mary grabbed my arm. “You’re not a part of this; you should leave.”
“I’d rather see this through to the end.” I stepped back and let her talk to Karina.
“Karina…” Mary began to cry. “I’m so sorry for what I did.”
“Your regret won’t change what happened. It won’t bring me back; it won’t make my mom stop crying herself to sleep everyday…”
“Please, you have to believe me, I—”
“Whether you didn’t understand the gravity of the situation at the time doesn’t matter now. You three can’t take back your actions, and I can’t undo my own.” The cold winds stirred stronger. “Was your need to be popular worth it in the end?”
Mary sobbed and shook her head.
“Jump.”
“What?”
“Off the stairs. Do that and I’ll consider us even.”
I stepped forward. “How will that solve anything? It’s a hollow vengeance at this point.”
Mary stretched out her arm. “It’s okay.” She looked ahead at the empty space before her. “I’ll do it.”
I tried to stop Mary, but an invisible wall of cold wind only allowed me to move within the small space it provided me. When we reached the staircase, Mary looked back to me. “Thank you,” she said before leaping off the ledge. However, just as she jumped, the same winds confining me dispersed and caught her before she hit the ground and then gently lowered her to the ground. I rushed downstairs and caught up with Mary.
Mary looked around at the whirling winds. “I thought you said…”
“I only asked you to jump, didn’t I?” The winds soon died down. “If I wanted you hurt, you would’ve been in the hospital a long time ago. You were as much of a victim as I was.”
“Thank you… Thank you, Karina.” Mary sobbed even more than before.
“Goodbye, Mary. And thank you, too, Anna.”
Karina left the school that day. The next morning, we heard the news that the other two girls were found in their rooms the same way Karina was found when she passed. Police assumed they did it out of guilt.
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