The Stranger
by Sue Baugh
Late one Saturday night, a young man was driving home on a deserted stretch of road. He could hear the rain beating against the roof of his car. His headlights cut through a cold mist that clung to the trees on either side of the road. In the flashes of lightning, tree branches seemed like ghostly hands grasping for his car. He could feel the steady drum roll of thunder. What a night to be out! He shivered and wished he were safe at home.
Suddenly, as he rounded a curve, his headlights lit up a young woman standing by the side of the road. Her hair and white dress were soaked from the rain. She looked so alone. He couldn’t just leave her there.
The young man skidded to a stop, then backed up until he could see her face in the ******** He leaned over and opened the door.
“Would you like a ride?”
She nodded and he reached out his hand to help her into the car. He shivered at her touch – her hand was so cold!
She smiled at him and said, “Can you take me home? I only live a mile away.”
Now that she was sitting beside him, he could see how beautiful she was. Dark hair framed her face, and her eyes seemed unusually large and sad.
“Sure,” he said. “You must be freezing.” He took off his letter jacket and gave it to her.
“I’m always cold,” she said, and held her hands up to the heater.
He drove ahead, and glanced at her.
“Why were you walking home?” he asked. “Did you have a fight with your boyfriend?”
She didn’t answer. Instead she gazed out the window as they passed a school and a small church. He turned the corner onto a tree-lined street whose cheerful homes seemed warm and safe in the storm.
She sat up. “There’s my house, the two story one on the corner.”
He stopped the car next to the walk leading up to the house. He circled around to the passenger side and helped her out. Her hand still felt like ice. He walked her to the front door, wondering what it would be like to kiss her. They stood on the front porch for a moment, then suddenly she leaned over and kissed him! Before he could say anything, she stepped into the house and closed the door.
He stood staring after her, too astonished to move. Then he turned and walked slowly back to his car. It wasn’t until he was behind the wheel that he remembered his letter jacket. She was still wearing it.
He looked back at the house, but it was dark, and her parents were probably asleep. He didn’t want to wake them up and get her in trouble. Then he smiled. The jacket gave him the perfect excuse to see her again.
The next morning he drove back to the house and rang the bell. An older woman answered the door. She had the same dark hair and sad eyes as the girl.
“Excuse me, can I talk to your daughter?”
“My daughter?” The woman’s eyes filled with tears. “Laura died a year ago last night, in a car accident. It happened about a mile from here.
The young man gasped in disbelief. “But …but I gave her a ride home last night! I walked her to the door, right here. I saw her go inside the house.”
The woman shook her head. “That can’t be. She died a year ago, young man.
She’s buried in the church graveyard around the corner. Go see for yourself – she’s in the third row from the front.”
The young man walked down the road to the church. He realized it was the same one they had driven past the night before. The small graveyard was behind the church. He found what he was looking for in the third row.
A white marble headstone was inscribed with the name Laura. The date of death was exactly one year and one day ago. Then he saw something that chilled his blood. There beside the headstone was his letter jacket, neatly folded on the wet grass.
Silenceeeeeeeeeeeee
vvvv
