My Ghost Child

I've always wanted to be a mother, though I never expected I'd be one this early in life. I'm 17 years old and I have an 8 year old adopted daughter. Well, if you want to be technical, she's 138, having been born in 1872 and dying in 1880 from cholera. Her name is Sarah.

Being a clairvoyant medium, I tend to attract things... Spiritual things. Sarah is one of them. I first met her and her older sister Emily when I was about 14 years old. It was an ordinary night in mid-November when I had a strange dream. Two little girls appeared, standing at the entrance of the hallway. I got the feeling that they were sisters. One of them was about 12 years old with dark brown hair, wearing a green dress and the other was about 6 with curly blonde hair, wearing a brown dress. They introduced themselves as Emily and Sarah and told me that they didn't mean any harm. They had nowhere else to go and hoped it would be alright if they could stay with me for a while. I agreed and asked if there were any spirits besides them in the house. Emily said yes, telling me that there was one more. "It's a man," Sarah piped up, "and he's not very nice. You should stay away from him!" And with that, the dream faded away.

The next morning, I remembered that dream vividly, though I knew I had to keep the info to myself. Neither of my parents knew of my abilities and people at school would think I was crazy. However, I soon got proof that I wasn't a lunatic, as strange things started happening around the house. The dishwasher seemed to have a mind of its own. It would open and shut its door at random intervals. My brother's toys would spontaneously become re-arranged. Some of the battery-powered ones would turn themselves on and move around the carpet like they were being played with. The house was very active for a while, but by the time I turned 15, it died down. However, I still knew that the girls were there.

For a long time, nothing happened in the house and I was beginning to think the girls had left. They hadn't. They'd merely been dormant for a while. Sarah was back, but Emily was not. She had crossed over, much to Sarah's disappointment. She was now entirely alone in the world. Naturally, I said she could live with me.

It's been several months since I let her stay and her presence is felt everywhere around the house. On occasion, I've seen her apparition standing at the end of the hallway in a dusty brown dress, giggling before running outside. Most recently though, she has communicated with me through a dream. Sarah told me her family immigrated to the United States from Cork, Ireland in the late 1850's. Her father fought in the Civil War, but got wounded and captured and sent to a POW camp. He came back alive, but very much changed (according to her mother.) He started drinking a lot as a means to cope with the horrors he saw during the Civil War. He was a violent drunk and would beat up his wife and later, his children. Sarah was often victim to her dad's attacks.

Sarah's mother was a bitter woman who had seen a lot of tragedy in her life. Over the years, her resilient spirit had weakened and life's hardships were getting the best of her. Though she wasn't unkind to her children, the mother wasn't emotionally available. Despite her unstable family, Sarah told me she had a happy life. She also informed me that there was a place called "shire" that was very important to her and she was blind in her right eye. Finally, Sarah hopes to find the spirit of her father and reassure him that she doesn't hate him for the way he treated her in life.

Thanks for reading!