It was my first security check of the twenty acre wrecking yard. It was the midnight shift, and the cold

November winds blew a chill against my neck. I had my partner King, a two year old German shepherd

on his leash. I was hired by Mr. Johnson, the owner, since a string of thefts had occurred. Tires, car

seats, car stereo's, parts easily sold, or traded. As I listened, the wind rustled papers and leaves from the

grove of maple trees.

 

From time to time, King would growl, and pull hard on his leash, but I would pull back just as hard. There

was broken glass and sharp metal pieces to cut his feet, so we had to stick to the roads criss-crossing the

wrecking yard. Suddenly, King stopped, and began wagging his tail, as if he had seen an old friend. I

shined my flashlight ahead of us and to the left and right, but saw no one. I patted his head and asked him

what he had seen. He looked at me for a second, and then continued to look ahead into the darkness.
 
The clouds had parted and the full moon light cast a soft glow on all the wrecked cars, trucks, vans and

SUV's. Then, I felt myself falling, as I tripped on something I hadn't seen and I let go of King's leash, my

flashlight falling to the ground, as King ran ahead. I called out to him several time, but he didn't come back

to me, which was not like King! Damn, my knee hurt, I told myself, my uniform trouser, smudged in

greasy dirt, but not torn.

 

Suddenly, I could have sworn that I heard the laughter of a small child, carried on the night winds. I picked

up my flashlight and went searching for my dog. Then I saw her, a little blonde haired girl about seven,

wearing blue jeans and a pink powder puffs t-shirt, with her long hair, blowing in the wind. She wore a blue

jeans jacket as she held King's paw in her hand as she petted him. King excitedly licked her hand. As the

beam of my flashlight shone on her, she looked startled, and then as I approached, she asked, "Is this your

dog"? I told her yes, and she hugged his neck with both her tiny hands, and said, "I like your dog"!

 

I looked nervously around, because I knew she wouldn't be here all by herself. Her dad, maybe mom too,

were somewhere in the wrecking yard. "Your mom and dad, I'm sure are worried about you" I said, but

she shook her head, "No"! There was laughter in her eyes, and the moon light made her eyes sparkle.

"Mom and Dad don't worry about me"; and I heard her giggle. My first reaction was how stupid! Bringing

a small child to a place where she could get hurt, just so they could steal stuff. I asked her what her name

was, and she told me her name was Anna Marie Brown. "What's your dog's name she asked?

 

I smiled and told her, "His name is King". Then I asked Anna, “Can you take me to where your mom and

dad are, I need to talk to them"? She looked up at me with a child like innocence and said, "Sure, follow

me"! At first she wanted to take a short cut between rows of wrecked vehicles stacked three high, and I

called out to her. "Anna, King can't go that way, he could cut his feet, we have to stay on the dirt road".

She gave me a puzzled look, then came back to me and walked ahead of me.

 

It took us awhile to reach a small clearing, near the maple trees, and the full moon lit up the wrecking yard.

Suddenly, Anna ran ahead of me, and I saw at least 50 people gathered. There were many children playing,

running as adults chatted, as if they were at a Saturday afternoon barbeque. I watched Anna run to a couple,

I assumed was her mom and dad, and they both looked directly at me. Suddenly, everyone stopped what

they were doing, all was quiet, as they stared at me, and then, they all vanished!

 

I stood there frozen, as I watched King walk ahead. As he reached the edge of where the spirits had

been, he lay down on all fours and began to howl so forlorn. The moon bathed his dark fur in an eerie

glow, as the wind blew! I felt chills running up and down my spine, in a way that I had never felt before.

I leaned back against the wreck of a Wrangler Jeep, and it suddenly became very clear to me. I looked

left to right, at all the wrecked and twisted hulks! There were trucks, cars, vans and SUV's. Yes, it became

all too clear to me, and it brought sadness to my heart. Men, women and children had been riding in these

vehicles.

 

Many of them died in their seats, and now, well, now they gathered here, as family and friends! They

were caught between this world, and their final destination. They lingered here, in this place, and me?

I stumbled onto where they had gathered, and now, they were gone! It was then, that I could have

sworn something had bumped my knee. I looked down and saw nothing, but the sensation was very

real! I called out for King to come to me, but he ignored me. So, I walked over to where he lay and

picked up his leash!

 

But before I could finish my patrol check, of the wrecking yard, I saw Anna appear next to King. She

was hugging King around, as I felt his tail, hitting my knee again and again. "Please! Can your dog stay

with me", she asked as she looked into my eyes? "I'll take good care of him, I promise". I knelt down

on one knee and began patting the back of his head. "I can't Anna, I know you like him, but King must

stay with me". Tears rolled down her face as she looked into King's deep brown eyes. "I miss my dog

Oscar so much" and suddenly, she was hugging me.
 
Sobbing, with her little arms around my neck, she placed her head buried in my shoulder. "I know my

little one, I know you miss Oscar. I'm sure that he misses you too"! I could feel tears rolling down my

cheeks as I looked behind King and saw Anna's mom and dad, smiling and nodding at me. I raised my

hand and waved hi to them, and they waved back. Anna looked back at her parents and said to me; "I

have to go now, momma's calling my name. I hope I will get to see King again"?

 

As her finger touched a cheer on my cheek, I smiled into innocent eyes, and said, "I hope so too Anna".

As she ran back to momma's arms, she was picked up and hugged, and all three disappeared. Instead

of continuing my check of the wrecking yard, I stood and looked around. I wondered what could be

done to make this more of a special place for those spirits who lingered here. As I wiped my eyes, I

felt a smile began to grow, as I envisioned a play ground for children, benches and picnic tables for

parents to sit.

 

The grove of tall oak trees was level, and the perfect place. Then, I felt my smile begin to fade, because

I realized that I would have to get the approval of the owner. That meant I would have to explain what

I had seen here tonight. What would he think? Would he think I made it up, or had been drinking on

the job? For the rest of that shift, I thought about what and how I would say what I felt might sound

crazy. A play ground for ghosts? A special meeting place for ghosts to gather?

 

Perhaps, if I offered to pay for it out of my pocket, even assemble it. Maybe he would humor me, and

just say, "Go for it"!  At the end of my shift, I left a note on his desk, asking if I could talk to him that

afternoon. Just about 3 p.m. as I pulled up in front of the small trailer office, Mr. Johnson was stepping

out onto the porch with a cup of coffee. The sky was clear, the sun warm, for November, as he waved

his cup and smiled at me. The first words he spoke, when I got out of my truck were, "Ya got a serious

look on your face Raymond. Help yourself to some coffee inside and take a chair out here with me,

I got your note".

 

When I stepped back out onto the porch with a cup of hot chocolate warming my hand, he motioned

for me to take a chair. I sat down, but was silent. I sat there, hoping to find a smooth way to say what

was on my mind. But the more I stalled, the less the words came to me, and I felt his eyes staring at me.

Finally, I began to speak. "Mr. Johnson, I've been giving something, a lot of thought". I could feel my

face beginning to turn red, as I began to tell him what I had seen last night. “I believe there are ghosts

in your wrecking yard, sir. Fact is I saw them last night on my rounds, near the grove of trees".Well,

there was no turning back now!

 

I had said it! I waited nervously for his response. He looked directly into my eyes, sternly, as if he didn't

believe me. Then, I saw his smile grow, his eyes soften, almost tear filled, as if I had lifted a heavy

burden from him. "I have seen several of the ghosts myself. I wasn't sure if you would see them,

Raymond. That's why I said nothing when I hired you. I feel bad for all the folks that have died in those

wrecks. Damn shame, for the innocent to die due to careless drivers�? I felt that was the perfect idea to

share my idea.

 

"Mr. Johnson; I have an idea I would like to share with you. That grove of trees down there is nice and

flat, almost level. It’s the perfect size to erect a playground, some benches and picnic tables. I think the

spirits that gather there would love a place that offered them a place to sit and a place for their children

to play"! "I'm even willing to buy the materials and do the labor on my time off, that is, if you don't have

any plans for that flat area"? I could see a hesitation in his eyes, and then, he began to speak.

 

"I don't think that your buying what you described to me is such a good idea. After all, this is my wrecking

yard, my property". Suddenly, he broke into laughter and said; "But by all that’s holy, Raymond, I'll buy

what you need, and help you get it put together"! I could feel tears forming in my eyes, as I watched tears

fill Mr. Johnson's eyes, as I said "Thank you". "Go into my office and get that clipboard pad on my desk,

Raymond, and draw out what your idea would look like".

 

I said, "Ok" and in a moment, I was back scribbling a rough layout, of what it might look like. He studied

my drawing, then changed a couple things and handed it back to me. My eyes told him I approved, as I

handed the drawing back to him, without words spoken. "I'll go on-line before I close the office Raymond

and order the stuff.  "I'll give you a call on when it is supposed to be delivered. Do you think we could

finish it in a day"? I told him, that if we both worked, we should get it built in a full day.

 

He reached over and shook my hand, and thanked me for coming up with such a wonderful idea. I stood,

and said, "Yes sir, Mr. Johnson. I just want to thank you for agreeing to build a place for them. I have to

go now�? I said as tears began to fill my eyes. I looked away and told him, he was a very kind man! Once

in my truck, I backed up as fast as I could, so he wouldn't see me crying. When I got to work that evening,

I found a note in my box, telling me that the the playground and bench materials would be delivered this

coming Thursday.

 

Coincidently, that just happened to be my day off. Over the next couple of nights, as I patrolled, I didn't

see Anna, her parents, not anyone. I held onto King's leash firmly. When Thursday morning came, I arrived

early at the wrecking yard, before the large freight truck arrived. Both Mr. Johnson and I stepped out of the

office when the truck pulled into the lot. He signed Bill Of Lading, and the two men unloaded all of the

materials. Mr. Johnson fired up his fork lift, which made getting everything to the play ground area very easy.

 

I drove his truck down to the area with all the tools I thought we would need. Just before Dusk, the last

nuts and bolts were tightened, and with sweat on our brows and blisters on our palms, we stood there,

proud of all we had accomplished. Three picnic benches, 6 benches, a merry go round, a swing set with

4 swings, a teeter totter and a slide, spaced out perfectly. As I put the tools in the back of the truck, Mr.

Johnson approached and shook my hand once more. But he stopped me, mid-sentence and told me, "No!

 

It is I, that thank you for caring enough to come up with such a wonderful idea". "If you see them tonight,

tell them, that it was the least "WE" could do", and I said I would! He shook my hand, and we both turned

away from each other and we knew why! I arrived on time the next night for my shift, and King was eager

for his first round. It was a crisp, clear night, but no wind. As we approached the grove of trees, I was

taken by surprise at what I saw.

 

All of the spirits were waiting, waiting for me! I saw men, women and children of all ages, waving at me.

Anna climbed down from her daddy's arms and ran to me, and at the last moment I released King, who

met her, with kisses, as she squeezed him tight! Then she ran to me, and held up her arms and I picked

her up, and we both hugged. King was trying to jump up too, as I pushed him off! She practically choked

me, hugging me tight as I whispered "hi Anna"! As I looked over at the spirits, I swear there were tears in

their eyes, as Anna's mom and dad waved again.

 

"Mom and dad, well; all of us, esp. us kids want to say thank you for all you've done"! Tears were rolling

down her cheeks, as my tears fell too. "Anna, I said; it was my idea, but Mr. Johnson bought all the stuff,

and helped me build it". "I know Raymond, I was watching, we all were watching, and we will never forget

either of you". I kissed her cheek, and let her down as she hugged King one last time. I watched her wave

good-bye before running back to momma. Then, all the children began to run to their favorite toy to play

on, as adults headed for benches, and tables, waving to me now and then. I took King's leash and

continued my rounds, leaving them in peace. 
 
©2002 Raymond Cook (All rights reserved)