“Be Strong and Courageous, for you cause this people to inherit the

           Land I swore to their fathers to give them.” – Joshua 1:6-9 

     I can simply say that my life was just the same as any other girl my age. My name is Bree, and I am twelve years of age. I lived in Scotland near Edinburg (before it was “haunted”). I lived in a small village with my mother and Black Labrador, Thorn. It really was a small village. Seven families plus the chief lived there. We got all our supplies, not the food, from Edinburg. I had one friend in the whole village. Her name was Wynter, and she was also twelve years old. Her Golden retriever, Silver, loved to play with Thorn. While our dogs played in the fields, we would garden, work on tapestries, and cook. On Sundays we attended Church with our mothers, and every night after dinner, Wynter and I took Silver and Thorn out to the fields and watched the stars, the moon, and counted every raven that flew by. Then once every week, the village chief held a bonfire party. The whole village went every time. There we would have dinner, dance, and visit. It was a wonderful life.

            Then one day it all changed. We were at the weekly bonfire. Wynter and I were wearing mauve tunics with black belts, brown pants, and soft boots. We had brought our black coats with us, due to the cooler night. We were dancing around the fire singing:

         “Through valleys deep, and pastures vast……”

  And so, we sang and danced. Then quite suddenly, the wind picked up and started blowing. Wynter stopped singing and asked, “Where did this wind come from?!”

I replied,” I don’t know, but this is out of the ordinary!” Soon it blew fire from the bonfire. The houses started to blaze as the wind slowed down. I fell to my knees, looked up into the ink black sky, and prayed, “Please Lord, let this foul wind end, already it has destroyed our crops, our houses, our gardens! I understand you have reasons for everything, let this turn out well.” I grabbed Wynter’s and my own coat as she rounded up our dogs.

        By then the wind had stopped, everyone had helped put out the fire with well-water. I knew then that my life would never be the same. The chief advised everyone to get some rest outside, for the houses were burnt. I did so, and as I did Thorn came and curled up by me. Wynter came and said,” That truly could have been worse. I am glad no one got hurt. Come here Silver!”

I told her,” I think we should listen as much as we can to the chief. I saw the adults go behind the chief’s scorched hut.”

She said, “I can only say that would be a fitting thing to do.”

       So up we got, and I followed Wynter to Chief Redwood’s yard. We hid on the other side of the house from where the adults were. There, we could hear them clearly.

“What are we going to do?” my mother asked.

Chief Redwood, a wise old man with some Native American heritage, said,” I have thought about it deeply, and I have made a final decision, we are to move.”

“Move?!” Wynter’s mother exclaimed. “Why, can’t we rebuild here?”

“No.” said the Chief. “We have no wood in this area, and Edinburg cannot supply us.”

One of the Fathers of the village asked, “Where will we go, we haven’t many places to go.”

Chief Redwood firmly replied, “We are going to go through the Haunted Pass.”

“The Haunted Pass?!!?”

“Yes, I have thought of no other possible way to go. Additionally, I have heard good things about what lies beyond.” The adults were frozen and their faces had gone pale. Wynter and I snickered at the ghostly-faced adults.

“The Haunted Pass? I understand there is no other way, Chief.” My own mother said. “But in has been said by many wise folk ‘Do not enter that forest, it has a completely unnatural life and ghosts have been seen wandering those woods.’” Chief looked very understandingly at my mother.  Wynter’s mother was about to make an excuse, but Chief Redwood gently signaled to remain quiet.

        We went back to where our dogs lay, and sat down. “I can’t believe that is what is to happen.” Wynter sadly said.

“I know.”

“Bree, do you think Chief Redwood is actually serious?” I stroked Thorn behind the ear.

“Yes.”

           I woke up the next morning to find Thorn licking my face. Wynter was still lying there. She was awake, pondering life. I thought to myself How in the world can she be sitting there pondering life? I stood up and looked around. The houses had long since stopped smoking. My mother came over to me and said, “Bree, we going to move. Please go down to the river, and get your clothes.”

“I know, Mother.” was all I could manage to say. I went down to the No Name River. I was relieved to see the fire had not touched the clothes. My two other outfits were there. I grabbed the black pants and dress. It was a dress with white sleeves and the rest was green. It was a cheap Scottish princess dress from Edinburg.

      I went up to what was left of the house and changed. I put those in a small brown saddlebag. I brushed my hair with a preserved antler comb and left it down. I noticed that by a miracle, my bronze crucifix necklace was untouched! I picked it up and put it on, hoping it would bring good luck.

    Then I ventured back down to the river and grabbed my tan fleece blanket. I also grabbed my plain navy-blue dress and other black pants. I rushed back up to the house and put the dress, pants, and blanket into the saddle bag. I came outside and found Wynter saddling her mother’s horse. Everyone in the village was getting ready to leave. My mother was visiting with Chief Redwood. I went over to the Chief. “What and where is the Haunted Pass?” Chief Redwood knew exactly what Wynter and I had been doing last night.

     “The Haunted Pass is a great vast wood not five miles North from No Name River. It has been heard and proved that it is haunted. The only season that exists there is Fall. The trees live long unnatural lives. They are seriously withered, but they watch and listen. The only water source there is Fox creak. Many who venture there disappear, but some make it. I have heard good things about what lies beyond. If we have faith, I believe we will make it.”

I knew it! It is haunted. I ran to tell Wynter everything. “No! I cannot go there! It is too risky, too frightening, Bree!”

“I know, Wynter. But we must trust that Jesus will bring something good out of it. He has reasons for everything.” She looked at me.

“Okay.” My mother came over. “Are you girls ready to go? Where are Thorn and Silver?” At the sound of their names, the two dogs ran over and sat down by the horse. Wynter’s own mother came over and asked, “Wynter, are you ready to go? We are traveling with Bree and her mother.”

“Yes, of course.” My mother asked me to saddle our horse, Pine. I did so, and put my saddle bag on her.

           Chief Redwood asked us if we were ready. We replied with a simple, “Yes.” Quite soon the whole village was ready to go. I looked around the place I once called home. That was when I realized that everything I once knew, the life I once lived, was all gone.

      As we left that place for good, I could hear Wynter quietly crying. I went over. “What is wrong?”

“Everything that I knew, loved, grown up in, is gone!”

“I have told you already, Wynter, everything is going to be okay. Please pray the rosary, I promise you will feel better.” As she blessed herself and started praying quietly, we neared No Name River. “There is a bridge a quarter mile down the river!” shouted Chief Redwood. Everyone followed him down to the bridge.

“Children, women, and animals first!” one of the fathers shouted. Great that means us, wonderful I thought. Chief Redwood signaled for every child and dog to come to him. When it was Thorn’s and my turn, he stuck as close to me as possible. Silver did not wait for Wynter, but galloped across as though he was free-range. After everyone had gotten across, Chief Redwood implied, “We have been set off course from the Pass, we need to head a quarter mile up the river now!”

      When we got to where we needed to be, Chief Redwood advised everyone to get some water while we were still near a water source. I filled up a leather water bottle with the fresh river water. When everyone finished, we turned North from the river. I knew this would be last time I would ever see No Name River. I picked a flower from a nearby bush. I smelled the lovely fragrance before I cast it into the river as a kind farewell.

“Everyone! We keep moving until we have reached the forest!” shouted Chief.

I went over to him and asked, “How much further until we reach the pass?”

“Three and a half miles, Bree.”

“Thank you.” Well, that is that then, it is already noon. I wonder if we will make it to the forest before dusk? And so were my thoughts.

  My mother ran up to Chief Redwood. “Look Chief! Berry bushes!” Sure enough, there were blueberry, strawberry, blackberry, and raspberry bushes on the side of the road. There, we collected our food for the road.

        At dusk we reached a very sad-looking forest. Right here I knew the Haunted Pass lie. It was dark now, and everyone was tired. “Get some rest everyone. Tomorrow, we enter the forest.”

  We were for real life going to enter this place. It looked so sad, as though the bare, spooky trees were longing for life, and a new place to be. The ground was blanketed in brown and orange leaves. I thought it was beautiful, and I had pity for the trees that thought they were ugly. “This is it.” I told Thorn as he lied down beside me.

          When I got up the next morning, the wind was blowing fiercely. It was however, a beautiful day. It was very cloudy, but in some places the clouds were thin and the sun as able to shine through. I could not believe the beauty that the Lord appointed for that day. As I stood up and looked into the forest, I could have sworn I saw a ghost. “Bree!” It was my mother.

“Yes?”

“You need to get up and have breakfast. The chief wants to venture into the forest in an hour.”

“Alright. Come on Thorn.”

       After breakfast, I combed my hair, but did not change my dress. Wynter was getting her horse saddled. “Hey Wynter! Guess what?” I called.

“What?”

“I am positive that I saw a ghost in the forest this morning.” I started saddling my horse. “Really? Where?”

“Hurry up and put the supplies on your horse. When you are finished, we will explore the spot.”

“Awesome, I only have a few more things to load.”

     We left our dogs at camp and ran to spot where I had seen the ghost. When we got there, I looked in the bushes. “Oh! Wynter!” She came running over.

“Ya Bree?”

“Check this out! Real ghost footprints!” Wynter bent down and looked. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“I know right!” Wynter held out something in her hand.

“Look at what I found!” She held out a piece of torn cloth.

“I think your ghost left behind some clothes.” I was sure my ghost was real. “Let us bring it with us and go back to camp. I think everyone is about ready go.”

      When we came back everyone was ready. My mother was talking with Wynter’s mom. They were ready to go. Wynter and I went to Chief Redwood. “Is everyone ready? If not, how can we help?” Wynter asked.

Chief Redwood replied, “Thank you girls for the offer, but everyone is ready to go.”  So, then we went back to our mothers.

Chief shouted, “Everyone! It’s time to resume our journey!” At that, we got our dogs, and started toward the forest. Me, Wynter, and our mothers were in the back of the line.

      I watched the other people step over the edge of the forest. The expression on their faces changed. Before, they had a bright, happy look. Now, they bore a tired expression. I wondered why. “Wynter!” I whispered, “Look at those people’s faces, their look is different.” Wynter looked closely.

“Oh, you are right. I wonder why?” Before I could try to answer, we both stepped over the edge of the forest. Almost instantly, a sleepy, tired feeling came upon me. Apparently Wynter noticed that too. I was pretty sure I understood what was going on. I looked over at Wynter.

“Not only is this spooky forest filled with ghosts, it also has some weird spell on it, too.”

“Clearly. You know what?” she asked.

“What?” I answered.

“This forest is the weirdest place I have ever been in.” I felt too tired to answer, so I just nodded.

     Before I entered this forest, I thought I would love it. Then I stepped into it and regretted thinking that I would like it. I could not even see the sky anymore, for it had grown immensely foggy. And that was not the worst of it, I had to all day through this forest feeling sleepy. The I remembered something I meant to ask Chief Redwood. I left Wynter and our mothers, and ran ahead to ask the Chief a question. When I got there, I looked up at the elderly chief. He didn’t even look tired, as though he was immune to forest’s spell.

    “Chief Redwood?” He looked down at me.

“Yes, Bree?”

“How many days will it take to get across the Pass?”

“Three days.”

“Thank you.” I answered.

    Great, three days of walking sleepily through a cursed forest I thought. Well, this is going a weird adventure. Then I paused. Jesus could help me. Dear Jesus, you meant for this to happen. Please help me through this journey, Amen. I prayed the prayer that I always said when I was in a difficult moment. Then I continued.

    So, for hours I staggered through the forest sleepily, until Chief decided it was time for a five-minute break. “Everybody! Get some water, then we continue. It is only an hour until six o’clock. Then we stop for the night.”

   So, I drank some of the water from No Name River. No Name River. That was a ‘name’ I would never hear again. Then I thought for a bit. Maybe I could visit it sometime after this journey.

    Before I could answer myself, Chief Redwood’s voice rang through my tired ears. “Time to stop for the night!”

  Wynter and I wandered through the clearing we were staying at and found firewood. When we found plenty, we brought it back to our mothers. We lit a fire and ate dinner. When we finished, we got our blankets off the horses. I looked at everyone else in the camp, they were putting out their fires and going to sleep. We lied down got under our blankets. Thorn lay beside me. “Good night, Wynter.” I whispered. I thanked Jesus for the day and instantly fell asleep.

         I woke up early, in fact, no one else was up. Thorn was awake. He was simply laying there doing nothing. I petted him as I investigated the forest. We had camped near the trees.

     Presently, I saw something, or someone standing in the trees. Standing there was a ghost! But she did not look scary. In fact, she was beautiful. Her long, black hair was wavy and graceful. She was wearing a white, tattered dress. She had a beautiful face and graceful hands. I stood up and walked over to her. She sat down on the ground, so I did.

    Then, I found my voice. “Who are you?” I asked.

 In a most beautiful voice she answered, “I am a ghost of the Haunted Pass.”

“No, I know what you are, but what is your name?” I asked. Then, she answered, “My name is Elspeth.”

 I had always loved that name. “That is a very pretty name.” I complimented.

 “What is your name?” Elspeth asked.

 “My name is Bree.”

 She smiled. “That is a nice name.”

  “Yes.”

 “How old are you?” she asked.

 “Twelve. How old are you?” I replied.

 “I am fifteen, though this forest has been my home for a year.” I was amazed. Most ghosts were old. Then I remembered a question I had earlier.

“I wondered earlier, what happened to this forest?” Elspeth seemed glad that I asked. “It is a simple story, but I should tell you.”

      “Three centuries ago, a king, forgotten to history, had an argument with the lord of this area. They fought over who should be rightful ruler of the area, known as Saint Benedict’s pass. After months of arguing, the lord of this land cursed the area, and made everyone in the area leave. The curse was meant to keep the king off the land. Anyone who enters this forest on October thirty-first, would die and be cursed to never to rest. The curse was known as long as that king was alive. Soon after, the lord of the St. Benedict’s pass erased the curse from history. After he died, people started coming and died. I walked into the forest and did not know my fate. When I found other ghosts, they told me the story.”

  “Well, it’s a good thing it is only August. I am sorry about your misfortune. Did the curse also make this place sleepy and permanently Autumn?” I asked.

  “Yes, that was the idea.” Elspeth answered. “You’d better get back to bed before everyone else wakes up and finds out you’ve been talking to a ghost. The leader of the ghosts would be very angry with me if he found out I’ve been talking to you.” With that, she left. I went back to my own bed and fell right asleep.

  Two hours later, everyone was up. I decided to change my dress. I put on my navy-blue dress. It was prettier than the green one. It was all navy-blue and simple. The sleeves were puffy with white lace at the bottom and the skirt was soft and warm. It was of my favorite dresses. I combed my hair and gave Thorn some water. I drank some water, but didn’t eat anything because I wasn’t hungry. During breakfast I thought about Elspeth. I was sure she’d come see me tonight. After breakfast, I went to go see Chief Redwood. I wondered how much longer we’d be in the forest. I walked over to him, bringing Thorn with me.

  “Good morning, Chief, I was wondering, how much longer is it until the end of the forest?” I asked.

“Good morning, Bree, I think about two days.” He answered. But then I looked behind him. Elspeth was standing in the trees. She had her hand raised with all five fingers up. This must have meant five days. My heart sank.

 “Thank you.” I said, meant for Elspeth.

 When the whole camp was ready, we set out for five days of journeying. Mostly I was thinking about Elspeth. We stopped to get drink and a little something to eat. Towards evening, the sky cleared up and revealed the most beautiful sunset ever. There was a mixture of pink, yellow, purple, and orange.

   I could only imagine what the Highland cliffs near the ocean looked like. I acknowledged the fact that the sun disappears quickly, and would fade away in minutes. It lifted my spirits, and that was what mattered then. I was right about the sun disappearing. The sun was mostly gone and the stars had appeared.

   About half an hour later, Chief Redwood announced it was fitting to stop for the night. Honestly, I’d been excited for nighttime because Elspeth might come again.

    The evening brought an exciting find. I had been wandering through the woods, when at my feet I found a book. It was half open, and looked old. Surprisingly, it was in good condition, despite the withered pages. The old leather binding was very soft. It was called Tales of King Arthur. The author’s name had long since faded away.

    I brought back to camp and started to read it. I had not gotten far when my mother walked over and stared at it. “What is that, Bree?” she asked.

 “It is book that I found in the forest. It’s the Tales of King Arthur.” I replied matter-of-factly.

  “Okay, but we will be having supper soon.” With that, she walked away to prepare supper.

     That night I lay in bed again thinking about things. I wondered what the land across the forest would be like. I hoped there would be many trees and other people. I sat up and looked into the forest. I decided to walk into the trees. Surprisingly, I wasn’t thinking about Elspeth.

   It was very dark outside. The stars twinkled brightly. The Big Dipper stood proudly against the dark, watching over all of Scotland. I walked over to Pine and reached into the saddlebag. I found a candle, a holder, and a match. Placing the candle into the holder, I struck the match and lit the candle. It was then that I walked a little way into the forest. I hadn’t gone far, when Elspeth appeared in the trees. She walked over sat down. I did the same.

  “Five days!?” I exclaimed, “How did chief get it that wrong?”

She laughed. “I have no idea. I would have assumed he knew it all like the back of his hand.”

Thorn quietly walked over to us and gently nuzzled Elspeth’s feet. She rubbed behind his ears.

 “Is there a way to break the curse?” I asked.

Elspeth looked at me. “Not that I know of.” I sighed; I was ready for bed. Thorn and I walked back to camp. I blew out the candle, put it away, and went to bed.

   The next day I woke up to find that it was very windy. As usual, I got up, combed my hair, put away my blanket, and sat down to read my book. When everyone else was up, we had breakfast. We put everything away, and set off onto the long road ahead. At around noon (we had slept late, I’d say about 10:00. I blame the curse.) we came to Fox creek.

“Fill your water containers with as much water as possible.” Chief Redwood’s voice seemed unusually loud in my ears.

   We filled our containers with the cold, sparkling water. I tasted some, for I was rather thirsty. It was probably the second-best water I had ever tasted. Nothing can out do No Name River. Wynter, however, did not agree.

“This is the best water I’ve ever drank!”

“You betrayer! You know that No Name River carries the best water.”

“I’m giving complements to this nice creek.”

“Okay, fair enough.”

   The day dragged on endlessly. I was getting more tired. Thorn was walking next to me in fear, I could tell he sensed the ghosts. He also seemed tired. Silver was too wild to take notice of anything. He did, however, show faint signs of the spell.

  That night we set up everything and had dinner. The sky had cleared up a little bit, but it was still very windy. It had also become colder. I lied down and covered myself with my blanket. Quite soon I fell asleep. The howling wind woke me up at around midnight. I got up and walked into the forest. Elspeth walked out from behind the trees.

“Good evening.” she said.

“Good evening.” was my response.

“How did you like Fox Creek?”

“No Name River is better, but it was okay.”

“Yah, I always liked that one. How have you been?”

“Honestly, I think the spell is stronger this side of the Creek.”

“I know. It’s ridiculous.”

“Has the leader of the ghosts found you out?” I asked.

“Thank goodness, no.” she responded.

“However, we have.” I knew those voices. It was my mother and Chief Redwood.

“Bree! How could you betray us to that ghost!?”

“Her name is Elspeth!”

“How long have you been doing this?”

“What does it matter to you? It’s been going on ever since my feet stepped into this forest!”

“What are you doing here?” That voice I did not at all recognize. It was deep and ghostly. It was the Leader of the Ghosts! What was he going to do to Elspeth?

“I am here on my business, not yours!” was her response.

“The ghosts do not speak with people. We are cursed and trapped from the world.”

“It should not matter to you. She is my friend. This is the only time I can tolerate being in this accursed forest.”

“Come with me now.” he said.

  With that they disappeared. I was not at all pleased.  I was afraid what would happen with her. I was also afraid as to what would happen with me. My question is: What did we do wrong?

  I walked back to camp and lied down. The words “What did we do wrong?” echoed through my head. No sooner had I lied down, I fell asleep.

  The next morning, it was still windy, but the sky had cleared up immensely. Instead of reading my book, I stayed right where I was. I was awake for minutes before I fell asleep again. When I woke up for the second time today, everyone was up. I got up and put my blanket away. I walked over to Wynter to say ‘Good Morning’.

 “Good morning, Wynter.” I said. She looked at me and replied, “Traitor.” Before she walked away. I don’t understand what I did wrong. Clearly Wynter was the side of the drama people. My thoughts went back to Jesus. Certainly, He knew what I did wrong. He must know that I did not do anything wrong. This what I said to Him:

Our Father, Who art in Heaven. Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.

  Perhaps this made me feel better. When everyone was ready, we set off. The only problem was, I was at the back of everyone. Thorn and I walked alone, shunned by everyone. At least my dearest pet was loyal to me. However, my dear Thorn was walking slowly and sleepily. I caught him just before he fell onto the ground. He wasn’t a very large dog, so I carried him in my arms.

  I was thoroughly irritated with everyone. I didn’t do anything wrong; I was being kind to others. I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong. They had no reason to for doing this. But I kept my mouth shut anyway.

  We kept going all day with no breaks. I imagined that Chief Redwood had stopped and rethought why he said it was three days to the end of the forest. I was far more than tired. 

  When we finally stopped it was past sunset. The sky was clear as could be. It was cold and windy. The one thing I loved most was the shining beauty of the Big Dipper. It seemed to smile to at me. At least it understood my hardship. It made me feel better.

  We had dinner and we went to bed. But I could not sleep, despite the curse. I was crying as quietly as possible. Today had not been good at all.

  I got up out of my blanket and walked into the forest. I knew that Elspeth would not be there. I hoped she was okay. I saw a small glow in front of a tree that on my path. It got closer to me until it stopped. It started to grow and take shape of a person. I was not scared. It was an angel. He had flowing hair and the warmest brown eyes. His long white clothing glowed with purity. His kind face bore a soft expression. “Who are you?” I asked.

“I am your guardian angel.” he responded.

“Why are you here?” I asked.

“Because you need to know something.”

“What do I need to know? I have been shunned by everyone. Elspeth is in trouble. I don’t know what we did wrong.”

“That is what you need to know. You and your friend did nothing wrong.”

“But why does everyone avoid me?”

“They are wrong to do so. They deem that you have committed a sin. Your kindness has made God happy. He has heard your prayers. But he wants you to do one more thing.”

“What is that?”

“Forgive them.”

“Will they forgive me?” I was still crying. I felt so lonely and hurt.

“There is nothing to forgive. Can you forgive them?”

“Yes.”

“You have a kind heart.”

“Can you stay here? I don’t want you to go.” The angel was the only person who had been kind to me all day. Tears streamed down my eyes and I hid my face on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me. Then he knelt down and looked me in the eyes.

“I am always here. I have been ever since you were born.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank you for your faith.” With that he disappeared. I didn’t want him to go. But I knew now that he was always there, watching over me. Protecting me. I stopped crying. I went back to bed in peace. Soon, I was asleep.

   The following morning, I sat up in my bed and wondered when the end of the journey would be. I counted up the days and found this was the fifth day. I was overjoyed. Finally, the worst will be past and we can build a new village.

 When everyone was up, they had breakfast. I sipped some water, but I was not hungry. We put away everything and set out for the last day of the forest journey. What happened that day truly surprised me.

  It was late afternoon and edge of the forest was just several miles away. I was still at the back of the group. Then Chief Redwood stopped in his tracks, pale as the ghost in front of him. I walked up to the middle of the group. I could not believe it. The leader of the ghosts stood in front of him, Elspeth at his side.

“Bree is no betrayer. She is the kindest person I have ever met.” Elspeth said.

“I stopped and thought why you were yelling at her, telling her she was a traitor.”

  That left my mother and Chief Redwood thinking. Perhaps this is what was going to turn them around. I’d forgiven them ever since it happened, but maybe this is what would make everything go back to the way it was.

“There was no reason we did it. I guess we were afraid.” my mother said.

“Afraid of what?” asked Elspeth, “That she loved me more than her family?”

“There is plenty of love to go to everyone. You owe Bree an apology.” said the leader of the ghosts. Just before I walked up to the front, my own Guardian Angel was behind me telling me to go forward.

“God means for all things to happen. With God, everything is possible.” I walked up to the front of the group and looked my own mother sincerely.

“Bree, I am sorry. I should not have thought of love before you. Your father would have stopped me. I continued to what was wrong. I am sorry.” Mother never mentioned Father unless she was sincere in what she was saying.

“I am sorry too, Bree. I shouldn’t have been as irresponsible a chief as I was.” Chief Redwood replied.

  Then, I looked the leader of the ghosts and Elspeth. By now, the hundreds of unfortunate souls in the forest were here.

“Thank you, Elspeth. And thank you Leader of the ghosts.”

“It is our pleasure.” they said. Then I hugged Elspeth. Perhaps if I was telling the story of the happiest times in my life, I’d describe every feeling I felt in that moment. But this is a different tale and I can honestly say that I felt peace and joy in my heart.

   For the remainder of the journey, the ghosts came with us and we had a merry time. Elspeth and I talked of many things. But the thing that stood out the most was that I could feel that my Guardian Angel was right behind me, feeling as joyful as I was.

   An hour later, just after sundown, we reached the end of the forest. That was when I realized we were no longer under the spell of the forest. Then I looked back into it and thought of the great adventures I’d had in the Haunted Pass. The happiest parts and the saddest parts in my heart to ponder for the rest of my life.

  Then I looked at the ghosts. All of them were sad to see us leave. That was when I remembered my question to Elspeth, days ago. “Is there a way to break the curse?” Then I walked over to Elspeth and whispered in her ear. I knew that if I did what I was to do, I would never see her again until the end of my days. But I knew that it would make the ghosts happy.

“Go ahead,” Elspeth said, “We will see each other again.” Then we hugged again in tears of sadness, for we did not want to leave each other.

“Okay.” I said.

“I release the Ghosts of the Haunted from their curse. And I lift the curse of the Haunted Pass itself.” Then I looked to ghosts, as they faded away into eternal life. Tears rolled down my face, but I knew what I had done was right. One day, I would see Elspeth again.

 I looked into the forest and saw that the leaves had returned to trees so that they could feel August once again. I stepped into the forest and found the sleeping spell had diminished, gone forever.

  The next day started to build our new town. One of the fathers of the village rode to Edinburgh to order supplies and tell the news. Then we found trees (not of the Haunted Pass) and cut them down to make into lumber. I knew we would finish before winter. Speaking of winter, Wynter had realized her fault and said sorry to me.

“I’m really sorry, Bree. I hope you’ll forgive me and we can be best friends again.”

“Of course, I’ll forgive you.” I remembered my Guardian Angel’s words to me. I was not going to tell anybody about him.

But finally, the world was back to normal. Finally, we could go back to the way life was before. However, I must say that beyond the Haunted Pass was prettier. We finished the new town in two weeks. Everything went back to normal, except for the bonfires. We’d learned our lesson. I had also managed to find a journal so that I could write my story.

  And every day I went into the forest and pondered the memories of my own adventures through the Haunted Pass. The End.