Read Online Ghost Soldier by Elaine Marie Alphin - Free Book Online Page A

knew just what she meant. I searched the entire house after Mom left, thinking she must have left something for me—an explanation, a birthday present for my tenth birthday. Something. I didn’t see anything at all, so I thought she must be coming back right away.
    I guess finding all those wind chimes made Mrs. Hambrick feel better. Maybe she knew how much her husband had loved her. He meant to stay around long enough to give each box of chimes to her. But it seemed to make Nicole feel worse. Even if he hadn’t meant to leave, her father was lost for good.
    But I didn’t know how to say any of that, and Nicole just muttered, “It’s freezing in here.” She grabbed her glass and walked out of the kitchen.
    â€œIt’s hard to lose someone you love,” the ghost said quietly, and I jumped, not realizing he was still there. “I thought my heart would never mend from losing my mother. And when I realized my sister was gone, and everyone else in my family, I knew I could never rest until I found them.”
    We’d both lost the people we loved best in our families. If things had been different, maybe we could have been friends. But how could I be friends with a ghost soldier who had somehow dragged me through the window into his battle—and his death?
    I tried to take a deep breath, but the icy air hurt my throat. “I’m really sorry about your sister and your mother, but I just can’t help you. Please—can’t you leave me alone?”
    He didn’t answer in words. There was just a whirl of cold air that wrapped itself around me.
    It was a long afternoon. If I sat on the porch swing, the ghost sat above the railing and complained about the overgrown yard. If I sat indoors, the ghost set the nearest of the wind chimes tinkling like crazy. And I’d slept so long, I couldn’t hide under the covers and escape from it all that way.
    What if I really was supposed to help him? What if that was why I had come to North Carolina? And what if I failed? Maybe that’s why Mom left me—because I was scared to try things.
    Mom was always talking about new things she wanted to try, like flying an airplane. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful to fly free up in the sky? Dipping and soaring all alone?” I thought it sounded exciting, but I liked hearing her talk about doing it more than I liked the idea of doing it myself. Mom would have welcomed the ghost. I felt ashamed to admit it, but I was scared of getting too close to that icy cold, scared of the minié balls whistling over my head and the bayonet flashing in the sun. I was scared of trying to help him, scared that I wouldn’t be able to. I wished I wasn’t special enough to see ghosts. But that didn’t make him go away.
    *   *   *
    Mrs. Hambrick, Carleton, and Dad had gone to church. Dad never went to church at home. I felt kind of jealous that he’d gone with the Hambricks and hadn’t taken me.
    They had Sunday dinner in the middle of the afternoon, and Dad told me to help Nicole and Carleton set the dining room table. Nicole was spreading a lacy tablecloth over the large polished oak table when I got there.
    â€œHere,” Nicole told me. “Follow behind and put the glasses out. They’re just everyday ones, so it won’t matter if you drop one.” She balanced a stack of dishes with delicate blue and gold patterns, and Carleton lugged an armload of silverware.
    I followed Nicole, putting glasses out at the right-hand corner of each place setting she laid down, with Carleton behind me, carefully positioning the knives and forks and spoons.
    The ghost stood at the end of the table, glaring at me. “You can’t ignore me forever,” he said, his voice fierce, as if he were warning me.
    I stared at the table settings, wishing I wasn’t afraid and could just exorcise him or something. Then he moved suddenly, swooping behind