THE LONELY LADY
By Carolann Crowley

     As she sits and reads her book, Sarah suddenly feels a coldness in the room. The fire is going strong, yet she feels a chill all the same. Though she adds a few more logs to the fire, the chill remains so she wraps herself in a blanket from the back of the couch.
     "Ahhh," she says to herself. "Much better."
     It was 3 a.m., but Sarah was not tired yet. It was then she heard the first moan followed immediately by a wailing sound, low and drawn out and pretty damn scary. It made her jump.
     "Who's there?" she called out, not knowing where this bravado came from.
     "Yeah, like someone will answer me," she said to herself. "I am here all alone and it's all in my head. Hearing things now. Oh boy, okay. Sarah, let's calm down here."
     The moan came again only longer this time. Now, she really was scared. It was a woman's voice she was hearing. Sarah decided to be brave once again and called out.
     "Can I help you?"
     "Yes." The answer was clear.
     Sarah's whole body was shaking as she asked, "What do you want?" She immediately regretted having asked the question.
     "I am buried in your basement," the voice said. "It's so cold and lonely down here. Can you come and free me? Please, I am so cold down here."
     Sarah pinched herself, hoping she was dreaming, but it was real alright. Against her better judgment, Sarah found a shovel in the garage and headed for the basement.
     'Oh, God', she thought to herself, 'what am I doing?', but she continued down the cellar stairs. It was dark and damp in the cellar and as she reached the bottom of the stairs, she heard the ghostly voice call again.
     "Dig over here. This is where you will find me."
     Sarah started to dig, shortly discovering a hand. Then, a leg. 'Keep digging', she told herself. 'Oh my God! Did the hand move? Stop these foolish thoughts right now, Sarah! Okay, almost done. I can see her skull and torso.'
     Suddenly, Sarah sees the ghostly skeleton move. It reaches up and grabs her hand. No one hears her scream as the ghost says to her, "I'll never be lonely again!"
     After three weeks of searching, not a trace of Sarah has been found, except for her book lying open on the couch and the remnants of an old fire. Nothing more. As her friends leave her house for the last time, they hear a voice call out, "I'm not lonely anymore."

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