My friend Brendan and I walked down the little pathway in the park. It was a regular sunny Saturday, and since school was over, we decided to just spend more time together. Don’t get me wrong, all Brendan is to me is a good friend. We met through a mutual friend; a 12-year-old boy named Alex. I’ve known Alex since he was 3, and Brendan has known him since Alex was just a little baby. I don’t know how Brendan and I actually became good friends. I met him one day when him and Alex entered my church. My reaction was just “Wow…” When Alex saw my face; he gave me a knowing smile. I laughed. Alex and I are really close and he knows what I’m usually thinking. It’s quite funny, once you think about it, because after our church service, Alex, Brendan, a couple of little kids and I were playing with a balloon. I was like the main target for Brendan, because he kept hitting the balloon over my head. He was teasing me, I knew, but I guess I didn’t mind it. It was fun! A week later, my church was having a carnival. I had to work in a room from 8am to 6pm. I thought that it was going to be torture, but guess what? It wasn’t all that bad. Brendan showed up in the station and helped me out with three of the games that we had in the room. The whole day was so busy, but I got to know Brendan well. He was a year and a half younger than me, but he sure didn’t look like it. He looked my age, but that doesn’t really matter. He loves sports, so when no one were at our stations (which was very RARE), Brendan and I would play catch with one of our toy footballs. The memories of our church carnival were great. I remember sticking clips in his hair, while he stuck clips in mine.
Well, enough of the past. It’s not like you want to hear about this anyway. Anyway, Brendan and I were taking a walk in the park and we saw a remarkable little girl with blond corkscrew curls and a huge smile on her face. She was adorable, wearing a white sundress. She had a fist full of daisies in her hands and handed both Brendan and me one. The both of us said “thank you” to her and were about to walk away when I felt a tug on the hem of my skirt. (Yes, I was actually wearing a skirt!). Brendan and I turned around and looked at the little girl. She continued to smile at the two of us, and grabbed both of our hands. I looked around for the girl’s parents, but I couldn’t find them. The little girl took Brendan and me further down the pathway into a small hidden area behind huge trees and bushes.
“What’s your name?” Brendan asked the little girl.
The girl just smiled and continued walking. Brendan shrugged at me, and I shrugged back. I didn’t get it. What does the little girl want from us? We walked further into the trees until we saw it. I gasped. It was a huge field of daisies! It was so beautiful! The three of us walked into the field and let the butterflies swoop around us and inhaled the lovely scent. It was so amazing. Brendan and I looked at each other and smiled. The little girl with her corkscrew curls stepped in front of us and turned around. Her baby blue eyes stared at us.
“What’s the matter?” I asked her.
She took both of our hands again, and led us further down the flowery field. I was already getting tired. We walked a long way. Why wasn’t the little girl tired? I looked at Brendan. He looked tired too.
“Do you want us to carry you?” Brendan asked the girl.
The girl shook her head no, and continued to walk. We walked so a certain area and stopped. The little girl pointed to a big pile of flowers and stared at me. I walked towards it and pushed away the flowers. When I saw what was behind it, I gasped and fell back against Brendan.
“What’s wrong?” he cried, steadying me.
I took his hand and pushed away the daisies again. His eyes widened when he saw what it was.
It was a tombstone, and not just any tombstone. On it was a picture of the little girl with blond corkscrew curls, a huge smile on her face. The adorable little girl was dead. Does that mean Brendan and I spent the afternoon with the ghost of a dead little girl? I read the engraving of the tombstone:
Daisy Jane McCarter
1945-1950
“Her love for Daisies and her magical presence will always be within us”
~ Love, Mom and Dad
At that moment, I glanced at the daisy she put in my hand and burst into tears. Brendan hugged me tightly and sobbed softly. I buried my head in his shoulder and let my tears flow. I couldn’t hold it in. It wasn’t fair that a beautiful little girl like Daisy would die. It wasn’t fair. Brendan and I just hugged each other as the sun went down and the field was surrounded by a whitish, pinkish aura and the scent of fresh daisies still filled our nostrils.
