Ms. Riverfield

In hindsight, this story is pretty embarrassing but hear me out. It’s not easy being the new kid who just moved to town in the middle of the school year. It didn’t help that this place was practically the middle of nowhere, the only restaurants being a mom and pop diner and a Taco Bell that was attached to a gas station. I nearly cried when I looked up how far away the nearest music venue was; an hour and a half, and they only showcased country bands.  I’ve never had a knack for fitting in, and I knew my alternative interests weren’t going to do me any favors when it came fitting in with my new environment.

I quickly discovered on my first day of school that if the other teens weren’t pointing and whispering about me, they were ignoring me completely. On the rare occasion one of them did speak to me, it was either insults or stupid questions that left me wishing they hadn’t bothered. I decided my best course of action was to do my best to ignore them right back. That’s why it took me so long to realize someone was speaking to me.

“Hey! Heyyy! Hey you! Earth to new kid?” Her last two words made my head shoot up from my sketchbook. I suppressed a groan as I took out an earbud. I thought I was the only kid still hanging around the school this late on a Friday evening. I just wanted to get some drawing done in the school courtyard before having to go home and have my mom tell me I should try acting and dressing more like the other kids for the tenth time. The short girl with bright blonde hair all the way to her hips in front of me went on speaking as soon as she saw she had my attention. “You look like you could use some advice.” She looked me up and down with a sneer as she spoke. Her voice was nasally and grating.

Before I could think of a joke about how her advice must be about hair care, she was already talking again. “I bet no one has told you about Old Ms. Riverfold.” I raised an eyebrow. I’d expected an insult. She continued on without taking a breathe. “They say if she likes you, she could totally change your life.”

I nodded slowly. “Um, ok? What subject does she teach?” I asked, trying to decide how much I cared.

She laughed at me and rolled her eyes. “She’s not a teacher. She’s, like, a legend. People say that in silent film era, a girl from this town left for Hollywood after her high school sweetheart cheated on her with her best friend. She made it big as an adult movie entertainer. They filmed that kind of stuff back then too, so don’t let adults tell you people in their day would never.” She paused to nod confidently at her own point. “Where was I? Oh yeah, she makes it big with no clothes on. News of this travels back to her ex, who is now married with a kid to her old best friend. He watches one of her films, tracks down her info, and starts writing to her. Sorry letters turn to romance letters as the two catch up. He starts making her promises, saying he’ll leave his wife for her. He insists that he doesn’t care about her career choice, that he just wants her back.”

I cut her off. “What does some old love story have to do with me?” My never been kissed self was pretty sure the answer was nothing.

“This isn’t a love story, stupid,” she huffed. “Don’t interrupt! You made me lose my train of thought. Uh, that’s it, her ex wants her back. She decides to forgive him, packs up all the money she made, and prepares to move back to town. She’s super excited, but before she can gossip to anyone about it, he reminds her that he hasn’t left his wife yet, so she better be discreet. She books a room at the hotel on the edge of town under a fake name; Ms. Riverfield. When she was found murdered in her hotel room, the case soon ran cold. No one came to claim her body, so she was buried under the name she used to check in. The local mortuary even donated a headstone. Decades later, her ex admitted to her murder on his death bed. Some say he went on and on about how what she did in Hollywood embarrassed and disgraced him. No matter what he said, the old bastard left out one important detail; her name.”

I hated how interested I was in this annoying girl’s story. “And?” I asked.

“And what? That’s it. That’s the story. She’s dead and no one knows her name. People say she haunts the cemetery,” she said with a shrug. “But none of that is the fun part. They say if you visit her grave, way back in the old dark tree covered part of the cemetery at exactly 3am, she’ll talk to you. If she likes you, she’ll tell you to make a wish. If your wish would truly make you happy, she’ll grant it. If it won’t, she goes away and will never talk to you again.”

“What happens if she doesn’t like you?” I asked.

“Nothing. You just don’t get to talk to her, and you go home, having wasted your night. Speaking of wasted time, I don’t have time to stand here and answer your questions. I have places to be.” She tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder as she went to leave.

I turned my attention back to my sketch book. I was not sad to see that girl leave, but her story really stuck in my head. I found myself drawing women in old fashioned clothing, wondering what Ms. Riverfield’s name really was. What would I wish for if she liked me? What would make me truly happy? Surely it was just some silly old story, yet I still couldn’t get these questions out of my head.

I didn’t sleep that night. My mind was too full of the possibilities of Ms. Riverfield’s legend. After tossing and turning, I checked the time; 1:27 AM. I’d had enough. I threw off my covers and got dressed. I wasn’t going to be able to focus on anything else till I tested out this legend for myself.

My mom has always been a heavy sleeper, so sneaking out was easy. The walk through town dampened my mood. This place was so small that you could easily drive through it and not even notice. It had no art galleries, no theaters, no concert venues, not even a book store. No wonder I couldn’t relate to the kids at school, I was from a completely different world.

I reached the cemetery and thought back to what the blonde girl told me; Ms. Riverfield’s grave was in the old tree covered part of the cemetery in the way back. I checked my phone; 2:47 am. I needed to hurry. I jogged my way to the back of the cemetery and started reading headstones. I found her grave just in time. ‘Ms. Riverfield Died 1921’. There was no birthdate. The grave was overgrown, like it hadn’t been taken care of in ages.

I nervously wrung my hands and cleared my throat. “Hello?”

“Hello, dear.” The reply made me jump. “What wish do you bring to me tonight?”

My jaw dropped and I felt my heart nervously flutter. Even though I’d thought long and hard about this moment, I hadn’t expected to actually get a reply. I was too stunned to speak. When I found my words, I said “I- I just really want a friend.”

“Granted.” The spirit’s reply made me smile, and I started looking around. I spied a girl pop up from behind a nearby gravestone. It was dark, but I could make out black hair pulled up into pigtails, heavy eyeliner, and black ripped fishnets under her skirt. She looked exactly like someone I might have something in common with but would usually be too shy to talk to. I gave her a small wave. She waved back, extended her hand and made a ‘come here motion’ with here fingers. Then, she turned around and started running deeper into the trees.

I ran after her with no hesitation. I stumbled and nearly tripped several times on the uneven forest floor, but she glided ahead of me like she’d run through these woods a hundred times. I struggled to keep up, all my focus on trying not to lose sight of her. I was enchanted by the flutter of her black hair and skirt as she ran. We ran so far that my leg muscles burned, but I didn’t care.

Just when I was afraid I might lose her, she stopped running, and started climbing up a tree. I looked up and found a tree house above her. It was rustic but looked sturdy. She had almost finished climbing up the tree by the time I made it to the base. I started climbing up after her, but it wasn’t as easy as she made it look. I watched her disappear inside the forest fortress as I struggled my way up.

I let out a triumphic sigh of relief when I finally poked my head into the tree house. She must have turned on a light, because the fort wasn’t as dark as I was expecting. I noticed that the floor was crinkly and slick as I pulled myself inside. It was covered in a sheet of plastic that extended up the walls and the ceiling. This seemed smart to me, easy clean up for snack crumbs and spilled drinks, and it would be waterproof when it rains.

The mysterious girl waved at me from the other side of the room where she had lit a camping lantern. My heart thumped. Why was I so nervous? Hadn’t she led me here? That must’ve meant she wanted to hang out, right? I gathered my courage and approached her.

Next thing I knew, I had faceplanted on the floor. The girl jumped on my back, tied up my arms and legs, and let out a laugh. “Trip Wire. I knew you’d be dumb enough to fall for it.” The voice was familiar, but I couldn’t place it. She got off of me, and I rolled over, not able to do much more.

I tried to stare her down, but being on the floor made any form of intimidation impossible. “Who are you?!” In response, she took off her wig, revealing familiar long blonde hair. It was the girl who had told me about Ms. Riverfield. Things started to click in my head. I didn’t recognize her voice because it completely lacked the vacant nasally quality from our conversation in the school yard.

I screamed for her to tell me who she was for a second time, but she ignored my question. “Just like you fell for my made-up legend. All I had to do was spin a silly little tale for you to show up to a cemetery all alone in the middle of the night. And some well-placed speakers made you really think you were talking to a ghost? Hilarious.” She turned away from me to go rummage through a bag nearby. There were distinct clinks of metal tools as she searched. I needed to get out of here, and fast. I started rolling toward the entrance as quietly as I could manage. “I just knew a lonely loser like you would wish for something pathetic like a friend. Thought you might even be a lesbo and wish for a girlfriend.” I was almost there, just a little further. “Guess you’re not a lonely perv, just lonely.” I suppressed a groan. It wasn’t the first homophobic insult I’d received since moving. Just when I made it to the exit, she turned toward me and let out an angry yell. “You little worm! What do you think you’re doing?” I was hoping I’d have just a little more time, at least enough to figure out how to untie myself, but I didn’t have that luxury. I took a deep breath to gather my courage, then flung myself down the tree house’s entry hole.

I hit several branches on my way down. Some were sure to leave bruises while others scratched at my skin.  One nearly knocked the wind out of me. I hit the forest floor, happy to be alive. My relief was short lived as I looked up to see that crazy girl starting her way down the tree with expert familiarity. I frantically bit at my hand restraints, getting them untied in record time. By the time I had gotten my legs untied, she had almost made her way down the tree. She was close enough now that I could see she was holding metal hammer in one hand, and her face looked like she was ready to kill.

I started running, just blindly hoping I was going in the right direction to get back to the cemetery. The forest around me all looked the same to my untrained eyes, so all I could do was try to keep my path straight. The sound of her footsteps behind me were progressively getting closer while I tripped and stumbled my way through the difficult terrain. I knew if I fell down, she would catch me for sure.

Tears had started to cloud my eyes when I saw the comforting sight of the cemetery ahead of me. My pursuer let out a frustrated scream and I heard their footsteps slow to a stop. Despite no longer being chased, I didn’t stop running till I made it to my house. I fell asleep trembling in fear that night.

What was I going to do? Who could I tell about all of this? I knew my mom would just accuse me of being out with a boy if I admitted to sneaking out. She’d probably even shame me for ‘liking it rough’ if I showed her my injuries. None of the kids at school seemed like they could stand me, so I knew they wouldn’t listen.

The next Monday, at school, I approached the school librarian, Mr. Franklen. Seeing as we were usually the only two in the library, we’d managed to get acquainted well enough that I felt like I could at least ask him a question. After checking in a couple books and having a short chat about their contents, I worked up the nerve to ask “Mr. Franklen, have you heard of Ms. Riverfield?”

His weathered face transformed into a wide nostalgic smile. “Now that is a name I haven’t heard in a very long time. Ms. Riverfield was a librarian here back before my time. My mother and my grandmother told me the most marvelous tales about that woman. She smoked, she gambled, and she once wore pants to church! Ladies just didn’t do those kinds of things back then. Even in her old age, she refused to tell anyone how old she was. She even put in her will that her birthdate should be left off her tombstone.” He let out a good-natured chuckle. “Why do you ask, dear?”

I realized my jaw was practically on the floor, so I quickly shut my mouth and shoot my head. I looked at my shoes as I spoke “Just noticed her grave at the cemetery. Thought the lack of birthdate was interesting.”

I was looking over my shoulder for that blonde haired girl everywhere I went in town for what felt like ages, but in reality, it was probably around 6 months. When I’d finally managed to make some friends at school, thanks to the art club, I started asking people if they knew of anyone fitting her description, making sure to mention her distinctive, almost impossibly long blonde hair. They’d all been going to school together since kindergarten, and everyone told me that same thing. They’ve never seen a girl who looks like that.

And I truly hope I never see her again.