Silvana didn’t crack once on her straight-faced insistence that it was Brucie, not she, who was looking at his cards. If Anna Luiza were just a little more gullible, she might have been tempted to believe it.
That night, after bringing her grandparents more medicine and putting away the leftover pizza, Anna Luiza tucked Silvana into bed. “Will you read us a story?” Silvana asked.
“Us? Is Brucie sleeping here too?” Anna Luiza teased.
“No, of course not. He’s just here for the bedtime story.” Silvana held up the book she’d chosen.
“Ah. Which room is his bed in?” Anna Luiza asked.
Silvana wrinkled her forehead. “It’s not a room. It’s just a place. He calls it his resting place.”
Anna Luiza’s skin tingled when she heard that. Silvana was too young to know the phrase final resting place, but her imagination had nearly conjured it. Little kid brains were so weird and fascinating.
Anna Luiza shook off the creepy feeling. Brucie was an imaginary friend, not a ghost. She’d spent lots of summers at her grandmothers’ house. She would already know if it was haunted. Silvana’s word choice was just a coincidence.
“Scooch over,” she said, and climbed in next to her cousin to read.
The next morning, Nana was feeling a lot better, but Anna Luiza made the breakfast pancakes anyway. She added chocolate chips to hers and Silvana’s, and made the ones for Nana and Vovó heart-shaped—or as close as she could manage with the drippy batter—and served her grandmothers breakfast in bed. “These are delicious,” Vovó said. “What are your plans for the day?”
“We’re going on a treasure hunt!” Silvana said.
“We are?” Anna Luiza said, at the same time Nana asked, “What kind of treasure?”
Silvana didn’t answer either of them. “We need shovels. Brucie says the treasure is buried.” She put her hands on her hips and glanced around, as if she expected to find shovels in her grandparents’ bedroom.
“Sounds like an adventure. You know where the tools are kept?” Nana asked. Anna Luiza nodded and cleared the plates. Vovó’s eyes were already half-shut. They needed to let the grandmothers sleep.
“Hey, maybe we should go to the playground instead,” she suggested when the breakfast things were all put away. For some reason, she felt weird about going on a treasure hunt—or about going on one that was Brucie’s idea. She wanted to spend time with her cousin, but she’d had enough of her imaginary friend.
Silvana shook her head. “Brucie says the playground’s a bad idea. We have to find the treasure today.”
Anna Luiza crossed her arms. “Why?”
“Because he says so!”
Anna Luiza struggled to stay patient. “Hey, can Brucie go away and let just you and me play today? Big-little cousin time before the others get here? We can go on a treasure hunt with everyone tomorrow. That will be fun.” The other cousins were supposed to arrive the next morning. Anna Luiza was more and more eager for them to get there.
Silvana stuck out her chin and shook her head. Anna Luiza recognized that stubborn expression—everyone in the family had it. When Silvana got this way, it was very hard to argue with her. “Today’s the day for the treasure hunt,” she said. “Brucie and I are going, with or without you. He can’t be here tomorrow. He’s only around for two days.”
“I’m in charge while the grandmothers are sick,” Anna Luiza reminded her. But Silvana only shrugged. Clearly that technicality didn’t matter.
Anna Luiza sighed. “I’ll get my sneakers,” she said. Silvana squealed like she’d been promised a puppy.
They got two shovels from the barn and headed into the woods. Silvana led the way, chattering with Brucie the whole time. Anna Luiza tuned her out. At least she only had to indulge this for one more day. Hearing that Brucie’s stay had an end date had lifted her spirits considerably.
Just when Anna Luiza started wondering if her cousin might get them lost, Silvana stopped walking. “This is the spot,” she announced. “Brucie says we should dig here.”
Anna Luiza lifted the heavy metal shovel off her shoulder and joined Silvana in digging. “How far do we have to go?” she asked after a few minutes. Digging a hole turned out to be hard work. The ground was packed solid, and though her cousin was surprisingly strong for a little kid, Anna Luiza still had to do most of it. She was already sweating.
“Deeper,” Silvana said. “And wider too.”
Anna Luiza sighed and kept digging.
“Wider,” Silvana said. “Deeper.” And finally, “Brucie says we’re getting close.”
Anna Luiza climbed out of the hole and leaned on her shovel to rest. She looked down at the pit they’d created. “It looks like a grave,” she said, and immediately wished she hadn’t.
“Brucie says keep going,” Silvana said. Anna Luiza climbed back in just to stop her cousin from talking. She thrust her shovel into the dirt. It hit something solid with a clang.
Anna Luiza’s eyes went huge. Was it possible there really was some kind of treasure in this stupid hole? “I hit something,” she said.
“Let me see it!” Silvana cried. Anna Luiza moved out of the way to avoid being shoved over. Silvana dropped to her knees and dug with her hands. She pulled something out of the dirt and held it up for Anna Luiza to see. Anna Luiza almost fainted.
“No,” she said. “No no no no no no no.” Silvana was holding a skull.
“Put that back,” she said. “Don’t touch it. That’s a—We need to get help.” She didn’t want to scare her little cousin by saying the skull looked human, but it definitely for sure appeared that way.
“It’s the treasure!” Silvana said, triumphant.
“That’s not treasure,” Anna Luiza said slowly.
“Brucie says there’s more! There are more bones, just keep digging.”
Anna Luiza shook her head and tried to keep her voice calm. “This is bad, Silvana. I’m getting scared. Will you please go back home with me? I don’t want to be here anymore.”
Silvana narrowed her eyes. “We can’t go. Brucie wants us to stay.”
“Silvana—”
“He wants you to join his collection. He wants you to be his friend.”
Anna Luiza’s pulse took off like a racehorse. Every muscle in her body screamed for her to run, but she couldn’t leave her little cousin there. Not alone. And not with Brucie.
“Listen to me,” she pleaded. “Brucie is not your friend.” But Silvana wasn’t listening. She was climbing out of the hole and lifting the heavy shovel. “What are you . . . No!” Anna Luiza screamed as the shovel slammed down toward her head. She raised her arms just in time, taking the blow to her elbows instead. Pain jolted through her, almost as intense as her fear. “Stop!” she yelled.
“He wants to be your friend! His friends are what he treasures!” Silvana shrieked like a kid possessed. She lifted the shovel again.
Anna Luiza no longer doubted that Brucie was very real.
Her only doubt was whether she would make it out of the woods alive.
She lunged out of the way and Silvana’s shovel hit the ground instead of bashing into her skull. Anna Luiza scrambled out of the hole. She didn’t have time to think. She barely had time to act. But she had to do something or she would be buried in the grave she’d just dug.
Silvana screeched and whirled in a circle, her shovel flying in all directions. Anna Luiza lifted her own shovel to protect her face, and felt the thud of metal on metal as Silvana’s flat blade crashed against hers. The force of the impact vibrated through her bones, and sent her little cousin flying backward. Anna Luiza braced herself for a second blow. Instead, she heard a shovel drop, and watched with horror as Silvana’s limp body hit the ground.
“No!” Anna Luiza cried. She grabbed her cousin’s wrist and exhaled with relief. Silvana was out cold, but she still had a pulse. She was alive. They were alive.
And Brucie would be gone tomorrow.
“Don’t you dare come back,
” Anna Luiza said out loud. Even she was surprised how tough and strong she sounded. But she was in charge, and she meant it. “Don’t you dare come near my family again.”
She lifted Silvana in her arms, and carried her cousin home.
Author’s note: The following play was performed by students at Blue River Elementary School on October 30 at the school’s annual Talent Night. The performance came only a month after the mysterious disappearance of Assistant Principal Calvin Dunton, which left the town of Blue River shaken. There was talk among school administrators of canceling Blue River Talent Night, or changing its theme of “Superstition,” but in the end it was decided, for the sake of morale, that the show must go on.
The adults involved have regretted that choice ever since, and many accusatory fingers have been pointed—but no assignment of blame could fix or change the tragic outcome.
In the weeks leading up to the sold-out performance, students rehearsed the play in secret, allowing no adults into the room. How much of what the audience witnessed was planned, I cannot say, for no trace of the original script was found—and, regretfully, no cast members remain.
What you are about to read has been pieced together from the memories of audience members who dared to relive the disturbing event. I record it here in order to preserve and honor the memory of those who were lost, but also to stand witness and serve warning.
Do not ever, ever read this script aloud, lest the terrible fate that befell its original performers should also descend upon you.
ACT I
The curtains part, revealing a nearly empty stage with only a park bench on it. TAWANA enters from stage left, and JACEY from stage right. They walk toward each other, and stop in front of the bench.
TAWANA:Hey, Jacey.
JACEY:Hey, Tawana.
TAWANA:Are you going to Abigail’s sleepover tonight?
JACEY:I don’t know. I want to, but I have to convince my mom. She doesn’t want me leaving the house.
TAWANA:Why not?
JACEY:Isn’t it obvious? Because of what happened to that kid in Silver Hill. Your parents aren’t freaked out?
TAWANA:I mean, sure. Of course they are, but not so bad I can’t go to a friend’s sleepover. Tell your mom Abigail’s parents will be home. Tell her we won’t leave the house and there’s safety in numbers. It’s not like we’ll be wandering the woods, hunting ghosts like that kid did.
JACEY:I told her. She’s still worried. (JACEY sits on the park bench. TAWANA joins her) I heard her talking on the phone with my aunt. They think the Vanisher is back.
TAWANA:The Vanisher?
JACEY:Yeah, you know—the one who makes little kids disappear into thin air. Poof! Vaporized.
TAWANA:(shaking her head) This town is too superstitious.
JACEY:Well, my mom is, for sure. But . . . you don’t believe in the Vanisher?
TAWANA:Are you kidding? Of course I do. That’s why I would never summon it.
JACEY:(stunned) Summon it? What do you mean?
TAWANA:(stands quickly) Uh, nothing. Forget I said that.
JACEY:No, tell me!
TAWANA:I’ve gotta go. (walks offstage, calling over her shoulder) Talk to your mom! You should be there!
JACEY:(to herself) Well, that was weird. (stands up) I guess I’ll go talk to my mom.
ACT II
The curtains part, revealing ABIGAIL, TAWANA, MABEL, and SYLAS sitting on a floor spread with sleeping bags. Each of them holds a flashlight under their chin. Behind them, a full moon shines through the window, through which one also sees the silhouetted branches of a leafless tree.
MABEL:(in a ghostly voice) Oooooooooh. (ABIGAIL swats her arm, and all four friends collapse into giggles)
ABIGAIL:(catching her breath) You are too much.
MABEL:(shrugs) You’re the one who dared me to.
SYLAS:Mabel, it’s your turn to ask.
MABEL:(sits up straight) Okay, Sylas. Truth or dare?
SYLAS:Dare!
MABEL:Hmmm. I dare you to . . . howl out the window like a werewolf. (SYLAS jumps up)
TAWANA:(teasing) How do you know he isn’t a werewolf?
MABEL:Ha, I guess we’ll find out.
SYLAS:(opens the window and sticks his head out) Arrrr-roooooo! Arrr-roooooo! (MABEL, ABIGAIL, and TAWANA laugh) Arrr-AAAAAAHHHHHH! (his howl turns into a scream)
ABIGAIL:What? What happened?
SYLAS:(slams the window shut) Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh.
TAWANA, ABIGAIL, and MABEL:What?
SYLAS:I saw something.
MABEL:Sylas, you’re scaring me. This better not be a bad joke.
TAWANA:What did you see?
SYLAS:I saw— (A knock comes from the window. SYLAS, ABIGAIL, MABEL, and TAWANA all scream and clutch one another. The knock sounds again)
ABIGAIL:(whispering) What should we do?
TAWANA:(hides her eyes) I can’t look.
MABEL:I can’t look away! (A face appears in the window. MABEL shrieks, then her shriek turns into laughter) It’s—it’s Jacey!
TAWANA, ABIGAIL, and SYLAS:Jacey! (MABEL opens the window. JACEY climbs through it, into the room)
TAWANA:Oh my gosh, you scared us.
JACEY:Sorry! I had to sneak out. My mom wouldn’t let me come.
ABIGAIL:Yeah, but you didn’t have to sneak in. My parents know you’re invited.
JACEY:(sheepishly) Oh. Good point.
MABEL:(laughing) That was epic. We almost died from fright.
JACEY:How do you think I felt when I heard Sylas howling like a werewolf?
SYLAS:I was pretty good, wasn’t I?
JACEY:You almost fooled me.
TAWANA:We’re glad you’re here. You’re just in time for truth or dare.
JACEY:Oooooh. (JACEY takes off her backpack and unrolls her sleeping bag. JACEY, SYLAS, MABEL, TAWANA, and ABIGAIL settle onto the floor)
ABIGAIL:Where were we? Oh, right—it’s Sy’s turn to go.
SYLAS:Jacey. Truth or dare?
ACT III
The curtains part, revealing ABIGAIL, SYLAS, TAWANA, JACEY, and MABEL lined up in their sleeping bags. The room is lit only by moonlight. ABIGAIL snores, softly at first, then with a loud snort that makes SYLAS and MABEL giggle.
ABIGAIL:(woken up by the giggles) Huh? Oh. (She rolls over and goes back to sleep. After a moment, JACEY sits up and looks around)
JACEY:(softly) Tawana. (Pause. She nudges TAWANA gently. TAWANA doesn’t move) Tawana?
TAWANA:Mph.
JACEY:Are you awake?
TAWANA:I am now.
JACEY:Sorry. (pause)
TAWANA:What?
JACEY:What?
TAWANA:(sits up) What did you wake me up for?
JACEY:Oh. Nothing. I mean . . . never mind. (MABEL and SYLAS sit up too)
MABEL:You might as well say it, whatever it is, since now we’re all awake. (ABIGAIL snores loudly) Okay, not all of us.
SYLAS:I couldn’t sleep, either. I keep closing my eyes and thinking I see the Vanisher. That’s what I thought you were, Jacey, when I saw you climbing up that tree. The Vanisher coming to get us.
TAWANA:You can’t see the Vanisher.
SYLAS:You can’t?
TAWANA:No. And it can’t just come get you. You’d have to summon it.
MABEL:I’ve heard that too. But it’s funny to think of it climbing up trees.
JACEY:(to TAWANA) That’s what I wanted to ask, actually. What you meant before about summoning it.
TAWANA:You woke me up to ask how to summon the Vanisher? No way. Let’s go to sleep.
MABEL:If you know, you have to tell us.
TAWANA:Why?
SYLAS:Because we need to know. Knowledge is power.
TAWANA:Not in this case it’s not. Believe me, you are all better off staying in the dark.
MABEL:I thought the dark is when ghosts and monsters and vampires come out.
TAWANA:Well, lucky for you, I don’t know how to summon any of those.
SYLAS:If you don’t tell us how to do it, one of us might summon it by accident. That’s what my cousin thinks happened to that Silver Hill kid. He summoned the Vanisher without even knowing he’d done it, and: poof. Gone.
ABIGAIL:(sits up without any of the others noticing) Hey. (SYLAS, MABEL, TAWANA, and JACEY jump) Oops. What are you guys doing?
MABEL:Summoning the Vanisher.
ABIGAIL:Haha. You don’t believe in that thing, do you?
TAWANA and JACEY:Yes.
SYLAS and MABEL:No.
SYLAS:I mean, maybe. You don’t?
ABIGAIL:No way. My sisters did the thing you do to summon it and it totally didn’t work.
TAWANA:Maybe they did it wrong.
ABIGAIL:Or maybe it’s fake—just a story kids tell to scare each other. Do you believe in the boogeyman too? (TAWANA looks away and doesn’t answer)
SYLAS:If it’s not real, show us.
ABIGAIL:Show you what?
MABEL:How to summon it! Let’s do it together.
ABIGAIL:Now?
JACEY:I don’t think—
SYLAS:(cutting her off) Yeah, let’s try it!
MABEL:Come on, it’ll be fun!
ABIGAIL:(shrugs) Sure, I’ll show you. I’m not chicken. (She stands up. MABEL and SYLAS stand too)
MABEL:(pumps her arms like chicken wings, looking down at TAWANA and JACEY) Bawk bawk! (JACEY stands up slowly)
TAWANA:No way.
ABIGAIL:(shrugs) Fine. We’ll do it without you.
JACEY:I’m not so sure this is a good idea. Even if it is just a story. Why take the chance?
MABEL:It’s good to confront your fears. Face them head on! This will prove you’ve got nothing to be afraid of. I promise, it’s just a fun game. (she switches to an overly dramatic spooky voice) Unless it’s not. (JACEY smiles and seems to relax)
TAWANA:(crosses her arms) It’s not a game to the Vanisher.
ABIGAIL:Whatever. Okay, Mabel, you stand there, and Sylas and Jacey, come over here. Good. Now, we’re going to turn in circles like this. On each full spin, repeat these words: Vanisher, Vanisher, take me away. (she spins and chants, saying the words quickly to get them out in a single spin)
SYLAS:How many times?
ABIGAIL:Five.
TAWANA:(quickly) Only five. Make sure you stop at five.
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