Indian

Our town of Rock, Ohio, is haunted by the ghost of an Indian. In the evening he creeps through the undergrowth along the highway, or hides in the shadows of the abandoned factory buildings on Main Street. He carries a large bow made of elm and wears painted feathers in his black hair. His once bronze skin looks pale and transparent now and in his dark eyes you can see the sorrow of fallen willow trees. According to the town archives he was shot in the heart by a farmer right in front of the town church, some two hundred years ago. It's a real shame and we always try our hardest to make him feel at ease and like part of the community. It's not easy though--he does not seem to appreciate our efforts.

The time the kindergartners made him a gift basket is a good example. The gift basket consisted of a plush bison, dream catchers, and arrowheads they had found in the fields. Wonderfully arranged, really, but the Indian didn't take it very well. When the class had finally tracked him down and Ms. Holly, the kindergarten teacher, approached him, basket in hand, the Indian hissed and shot an arrow at her. The ghostly arrow went right through her head. The children scattered. Ms. Holly was down with the flu for a whole week after that.

The Indian isn't always so reclusive though--we weren't at all surprised when he walked into Ted's bar last Friday night. It was his death day and on his death day he always follows the same routine.

He stood in the corner silently and watched us, his eyes dark with reproach. Just before midnight he left. He stole down Main Street clutching his elm bow tightly. We followed at a safe distance. By the town church he stopped. He simply stood there and stared at the marble statue of Mary. He seemed to be waiting for something. We waited with him, for hours we waited, but, as usual, nothing happened, only the sun came out and the birds began to chirp. Eventually he disappeared, melted away into thin air, but everyone knew that he’d be back again soon.

Someone must have filmed him this time, because now there is a video online titled “Mary and the Ghost”. In the video you can see his light, fading silhouette, swaying back and forth like a tree in the wind, a gaping hole in his chest, right where his heart should have been.