This is a true story that happened to me when I was in the 5th grade.

 

On a bright and sunny spring day I was hanging out at my friend Hailey's house.  My younger brother came along with me so he could hang out with Hailey's brother.  Hailey's mom was outside gardening and the boys were amusing themselves.  Around noon Hailey and I were playing a game on her laptop, when it was her turn I got up so she could have the seat.  As I got up I saw the top of a blonde head going down the hallway away from Hailey’s room.  Judging from the height I thought it must be a toddler, or someone crawling down the hall.  The hair was the same color of Hailey's brother’s so I figured he was playing a joke and crawling on the floor to jump out and scare us.  My brother Andy and Hailey’s brother Mark were both eight and like to play tricks.  I walked out into the hallway to catch them but the person had disappeared without a sound.  I asked Hailey if she knew if Andy and Mark were in the house with us.  She didn’t think so and wanted to know why I asked.  I explained what I saw in the hallway just seconds before.  We searched her parent's room, hoping to find them playing in there.  They were nowhere to be found.  I happened to look out the window and saw Andy and Mark were outside playing football.  They were really having a great time, totally involved in the game.  They'd probably been out there playing the whole time.

 

Hailey suggested we go ask her Mom if anyone had come in the house or if she’d been in and had anyone with her.  We went outside and asked Mrs. Karr.  She said there hadn’t been anyone around except the boys playing in the yard and that she hadn’t stopped gardening.  We explained to her what I'd seen upstairs in the hall. Mrs. Karr said: “Oh My” and then quickly changed the subject by telling us to go get washed up for lunch.

 

I was positive that I saw someone upstairs hall and really wished I knew what had happened.  I even asked if the dog had been in the house, even though the hair color would have been wrong but the height would have been close.  I really like to have answers and it really bothered me that there was no answer at all.  Mrs. Karr didn’t seem to want to discuss it at all.  Hailey and I agreed to forget about it since this was getting us nowhere.

 

Nothing else happened until August.   I was at Hailey's house again. I hadn't thought of the "head" incident for ages. We were in her parents' bedroom and I noticed a picture on a dresser of a little boy that looked a lot like Mark.  He had the same color hair and his face was similar. The frame of the picture had “Bradley Karr, 1987” inscribed into it.  I asked Hailey who this was in the picture.  She explained to me that she had another brother, Brad, but he that he had been killed in an automobile accident when he was just a toddler.

 

In my mind I was freaking out thinking: “This is it this is who you saw that day in the hall.  Perfect height, perfect hair color.  This has to be what you saw.”  I don’t know if Hailey knew what I was thinking but I believe she did.  I got the feeling it would be best not to say a word.  I thought back to Mrs. Karr saying “Oh My” and changing the subject.  I think the Karrs knew that Brad was checking in on them from time to time and they considered it personal and didn’t want others to share in their secret.  Why I had a small glimpse of this secret I do not know but I have to admit it made me feel good to know that even though they lost their son, he is not lost.

 

Ella

 

Thank you for your story Ella.