The Starving Ghost: An Up2U Mystery Adventure - Up2U Adventures Set 3

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The Starving Ghost: An Up2U Mystery Adventure - Up2U Adventures Set 3 Page 3

by Kelly Rogers


  the bed, but the other furniture in your room

  was there when I moved in.”

  “So the dresser . . .”

  BING! Shay’s question was interrupted by a

  bell from the kitchen.

  “That’ll be your breakfast,” Moira said,

  straightening up. “Look, Shay, if you really want

  to know more about all this, you should go see my

  ma. She works at the Kilkenny Local Library in

  43

  the village. Just ask for old Mrs. Mulligan. She’ll set you right.”

  Moira smiled and turned to get the food. “I

  hope you like black pudding, Shay!”

  When they finished eating, they returned to

  the farm. Uncle Sean enlisted Shay in another

  round of chores. It was after noon before she was

  able to get away. She made herself two sandwiches

  and packed them in a backpack. She also grabbed

  the pictures she had taken from the hallway.

  Shay was determined to learn more about

  Bridget. She wasn’t going to stop because it was

  time to eat. She left the house and headed toward

  the place she met Bridget yesterday.

  “Bridget!” she called as she walked up the hill.

  Bridget was already there. She sat on the

  stump Uncle Sean used for chopping logs. The

  outline of an ax wedged into the stump appeared

  through Bridget’s ghostly form. Shay shuddered,

  but tried to hide her discomfort.

  44

  Bridget, meanwhile, had turned to face Shay.

  Her eyes were narrowed and she pouted. “I’ve

  been waiting all morning for you!” Bridget’s voice

  was clearly angry. Shay was surprised. She had

  seemed so friendly the day before.

  “Sorry,” Shay muttered. “I wanted to come

  right away. I was learning more about the farm.”

  Bridget’s face softened. “The farm,” she said

  as though she was remembering a sweet and sad

  memory. “This used to be my farm, too, I think.”

  Shay nodded excitedly. She sat down next to

  Bridget. The whole story started tumbling out.

  She told Bridget everything she’d learned from

  Moira. She decided not to say anything about the

  photos just yet.

  At the end of the story, Shay grabbed her

  bag. Her stomach growled as she thought of all

  the farm work she’d done this morning. Shay

  unzipped her backpack and pulled out her two

  sandwiches.

  45

  “I’m starving,” she said to Bridget. “I’ve never worked so much in my life.” Bridget didn’t seem

  to hear Shay. She focused on the sandwiches.

  Shay unwrapped the first one and took a bite.

  She immediately felt better.

  “Do you remember anything else about the

  cottage?” Shay asked.

  Bridget shook her head as though to reset her

  thoughts. She smiled at Shay, a little coldly now.

  “Not much,” she said, still watching Shay.

  Shay took another bite of sandwich. Through

  a mouthful of food, she said, “Who else did you

  live with?”

  Bridget’s eyes swiveled back to the sandwich

  in Shay’s hands. She watched Shay lift it to her

  mouth and take another bite. Then she said, “I

  don’t know. I don’t remember.”

  Bridget didn’t sound excited anymore, Shay

  thought. She was starting to sound upset. Even

  angry. Shay wondered why as she took another

  46

  bite of food. She chewed, swallowed, and took her final bite.

  Even after one sandwich, Shay was still feeling

  hungry. She picked up the second packet and

  started to unwrap it.

  “I can’t think while you’re eating,” Bridget

  snapped.

  Shay looked up, startled. “I’m so sorry!” Where

  are my manners? Shay thought. “Do you want

  some?” Shay held out her arm to offer the jam

  sandwich to her friend.

  Bridget lunged greedily toward Shay’s

  outstretched hand.

  Bridget’s hand went right through the food.

  “I’m so sorry,” cried Shay, “I forgot!”

  But Bridget couldn’t hear her. She was

  reaching out, again and again, trying to grab the

  food. Her hair had come loose from her braid

  and her lips curled in a snarl. She made a sound

  somewhere between panting and crying as she

  47

  swiped and snatched and grasped and grabbed at the sandwich.

  “I just want to eat!” Bridget finally screamed.

  Shay dropped the food on the ground. She

  curled up, away from Bridget. Bridget pawed at

  the sandwich one last time, but it was no use. She

  couldn’t pick it up.

  Bridget looked up at Shay. Her face was red.

  She had tears in her eyes.

  “I’m just so HUNGRY!”

  48

  49

  Chapter

  7

  4GD4QTSG

  Shay headed straight to the farm after Bridget

  left. She knew that she should find Uncle Sean

  and get back to work. But she couldn’t forget the

  look in Bridget’s eyes as she tried—and failed—to

  get the sandwich. She ran into the kitchen and

  scribbled a note to Uncle Sean.

  7DMSSNRDD-QR -TKKHF@M

  @BJAXCHMMDQ

  i3G@X

  Shay had seen a bus stop at the end of the

  road. She walked to it and sat down on the bench.

  She didn’t know how long it would be until a bus

  50

  came, but she didn’t care. She reached into her backpack and pulled out the photo of Bridget

  with her family. She looked into the girl’s sad

  eyes.

  Shay didn’t have to wait long. Moments later,

  a white and green city bus pulled around the

  corner and stopped in front of her. She got on the

  bus and paid her fare.

  The journey took almost no time. Before she

  knew it, Shay was walking through the doors

  of the Kilkenny Local Library. She felt like a

  detective. She ignored the books and computers

  and marched straight up to the desk labeled

  Information.

  The woman behind the desk looked like a

  storybook librarian. Her long, gray hair was piled

  into a high bun. She wore a gray sweater, even

  though it was June, and a pair of glasses attached

  to a chain draped around her neck.

  “Are you Mrs. Mulligan?” Shay asked.

  51

  The woman looked up from the computer

  she’d been working on.

  “I am,” she said slowly. “And you must be

  Siobhan Sullivan from America. My Moira told

  me to expect you. I understand you want to know

  about the Sullivan farm.” Mrs. Mulligan shook

  her head slowly. “Lots of sad stories in that place.”

  Shay couldn’t tell her story fast enough. She

  told Mrs. Mulligan about the cottage and the

  pictures. She left out the part about seeing ghosts.

  “And now, I just want to know what happened

  to her,” Shay said. She took the photos out of her

  backpack.

  Mrs. Mulligan looked closely at the pho
tos,

  her gaze shifting between them. She finally took

  her glasses off and looked directly at Shay. “It’s

  the town archive you’ll be wanting, then.”

  Mrs. Mulligan led Shay to a table with a large,

  leather-bound book next to a computer. “This

  computer only has information about the town.

  52

  And this book,” she said, lightly touching the cover, “is our town record. Everyone who was

  born or died here is in this book.”

  “I’d start there, dear.” Mrs. Mulligan pointed

  to a computer file titled “Famine, 1845-1852.”

  Then the librarian left the picture frames on the

  table and walked away.

  Shay clicked on the file and read the

  information greedily. She was skimming—her

  brain was working too fast to read every word

  carefully. Words jumped out at her:

  potato crop failed

  no help

  starving

  one million dead

  Soon she had the story of what happened to

  Bridget. Shay removed the pictures from their

  frames. The dates written on the back of each

  photo confirmed Bridget’s family lived in Ireland

  when one million Irish people died of starvation.

  53

  On the back of the first photo was written: Walsh

  family, 1846. On the back of the second: Walsh

  family, 1848.

  Shay turned to the leather-bound book. She

  opened the heavy volume and flipped to the year

  “1847.” There it was, written in clear black ink:

  Death: Bridget Walsh, May 22, 1847 Cause:

  Starvation

  54

  Shay didn’t see Mrs. Mulligan when she left the library. She boarded a bus back to the farm

  without paying attention to her surroundings. All

  she could think about was poor Bridget, who died

  because there wasn’t enough food for her to eat.

  Shay kept thinking about Bridget as she exited

  the bus. She walked toward the cottage. What

  was she going to tell Bridget?

  But when she got to the cottage, all thoughts

  of what to tell Bridget disappeared. Bridget stood

  in front of the cottage with a bright smile. Behind

  her, the cottage was lit up by a deep, golden glow.

  A fire flickered in the great room. Shay could hear

  the happy noises of people talking and giggling

  inside.

  Bridget waved her hands frantically. “Shay!”

  she called. “Shay! You’ll never believe it, I

  remembered what happened!”

  Shay was astonished. She slowly approached

  the cottage and Bridget. For the first time,

  55

  Bridget’s skin was full of color and her eyes were bright. The tired, sunken look was gone. The

  smile on her face was genuine and reached all the

  way to her eyes.

  “I think I found out too, Bridget,” Shay said

  slowly.

  “Fantastic!” Bridget jumped up and down and

  clapped her hands. “Why don’t you come in and

  tell me everything?” Bridget grabbed Shay’s wrist

  and started to lead her inside the cottage.

  56

  The Ending Is Up2U!

  If you think Shay should yell for Uncle Sean

  and try to leave, turn to page 58.

  If you think Shay should trust Bridget and

  follow her into the cottage, turn to page 65.

  If you think Shay should ask Mrs. Mulligan

  for help, turn to page 73.

  57

  ENDING

  1

  4GD3VHSBG

  Nothing about what was happening felt right

  to Shay. The last time she’d been to the cottage,

  it had been broken down and abandoned. She

  had heard phantom sounds. She had been hurt.

  She wouldn’t go in the cottage without help.

  “I think Uncle Sean should see the cottage,”

  Shay said. She started to pull away.

  “No,” said Bridget. “I think you’ll come in

  right now.”

  “Uncle Sean!” Shay screamed. She tried to

  step away, but Bridget lunged at her. She grabbed

  Shay’s wrist and pulled her into the cottage.

  58

  Shay fell hard to her knees. She stood up slowly. She brushed dirt off of her and rubbed

  her wrist. Earlier that day, Bridget hadn’t been

  able to touch her sandwich. What happened?

  Shay looked around the cottage. She expected

  it to be different. When she approached it earlier,

  it was all lit up. But there was nothing new about

  the cottage. It was empty and eerily quiet. Shay

  couldn’t even hear the sounds of the birds or the

  wind through the trees.

  She started to go out of the cottage. Bridget

  met her at the door. She looked different. Her

  smile was no longer kind; it was menacing. Her

  green eyes twinkled.

  There was something else different about

  Bridget. The ghost was no longer wearing her

  white dress. Instead she was in a flannel work

  shirt and a pair of old jeans. Just like Shay’s outfit.

  Shay was scared to look at herself. When she

  did, she gasped. She was wearing Bridget’s dress!

  59

  “What’s wrong?” Bridget asked wickedly.

  Shay tried to run out the door, but she was

  stopped as if she had hit a wall. She tried again,

  more slowly this time. Still, she couldn’t get out

  of the door.

  Shay tried to climb out of the window in

  the front of the cottage. She couldn’t. And she

  couldn’t get out of the window on the other side of

  the cottage either. It was as though each opening

  to the house was covered by invisible glass.

  Starting to panic now, Shay rushed to the

  front door. She looked at Bridget. The ghost was

  still smiling.

  “Why can’t I get out?” Shay cried.

  “You’ll get out eventually. Soon, I’ll be headed

  to America. And you’ll be here, roaming the

  farm. But for now, you’ll stay in the cottage. I

  can’t have you ruining things for me.”

  “What do you mean?” Shay’s panic was

  leaving. It was being replaced by a sense of dread.

  60

  “Bridget, I’ve been trying to help you! I even went to the library and met Mrs. Mulligan. I read all

  about the famine, about what happened here.”

  “Then you know exactly how long I’ve been

  waiting.” Bridget’s voice rose with every word.

  She looked just like she had when she’d been

  unable to eat the sandwich. “Over 150 years. My

  family gone. They moved to America without

  me. I can’t eat. And I’m always hungry!”

  “I know, Bridget!” Shay tried to keep her voice

  calm. “I know that your family ran out of food.

  That you didn’t have enough to eat.”

  “I was making sure Patrick had enough food,”

  Bridget softened briefly. “He was only eight when

  the food started to run out. I always gave him my

  share, I just didn’t realize . . .”

  Bridget then shook her head, as though she

  was shaking off the memory of her old life. “I’ve

&nbs
p; been tied to this land for far too long,” she said

  softly.

  61

  Bridget turned her gaze back to Shay. “I knew from the moment I first saw you in your bedroom

  window—yes, that was me—I knew that I could

  get you to switch places with me. I just had to

  get you on my side. I had to be strong enough to

  build the cottage’s magic.”

  Bridget looked around the cottage with a look

  of disdain. “Once you’d learned my story, I knew

  that your feelings would help bring the cottage

  back to life. To keep you here.”

  “Shay!”

  To Shay’s relief, she saw Uncle Sean walking

  toward the cottage. He must have heard her

  scream.

  “Uncle Sean!” she cried, waving her hands

  frantically. “I’m here!”

  Uncle Sean didn’t seem surprised to see Shay

  trapped in the house, or to see Bridget. In fact, he

  didn’t seem to see Shay at all. He got closer to the

  cottage. But he never once looked at Shay.

  62

  “What’s wrong? You sounded scared.” Uncle Sean directed this not to Shay, but to Bridget.

  “Oh, nothing,” said Bridget. “I just wanted you

  to tell me about this cottage I found.”

  “Uncle Sean, it’s me!” Shay cried. Again, he

  didn’t seem to hear her. His eyes scanned the

  cottage before he spoke again.

  “This has been here for ages. In fact, I’ve been

  thinking of bulldozing it.” He looked around

  again, then turned to Bridget. “Let’s head back

  to the farm, Shay.” Then he patted Bridget on the

  shoulder, just like he had done to Shay on her

  first night at the farm.

  “Uncle Sean! Wait! It’s me! I’m here!” But he

  still didn’t hear her. Both Bridget and Uncle Sean

  turned away from the cottage.

  They didn’t look back.

  Shay started pounding on the invisible barrier

  keeping her inside the cottage. “Uncle Sean!” she

  screamed. “Uncle Sean!”

  63

  Shay watched helplessly as her uncle and the

  girl who switched places with her walked off to

  the farm.

  64

  Ending

  2

  4GD4QDD

  Shay let herself be led into the cottage. The

  first thing she noticed was the smell of soup

  that had been cooking all day. Then Shay looked

  around.

  She couldn’t believe her eyes. It was like the

  cottage had come alive! The fire was lit in the

  great room. Glowing lamps on the walls and table

 

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