The Little Girl with the Crimson Ribbon

The Little Girl with the Crimson Ribbon

In the fall of 1976, I had butterflies in my stomach about going to school after our long summer break. Over the summer, I had cataract surgery and my mom had to go with me to talk to my teacher. We didn't have a car back then, so the bus driver was kind enough to let my mom ride the school bus with me. I don't think the other student understood why a grown woman would be riding the bus to school. A little boy with red hair and freckles kept looking over his seat at her in amazement.

“It's my first day of school too,” said Mom

The bus driver Ms. Jones, looked at my mom in the rear view mirror and laughs loudly. When we arrived at school, everyone line up and got off the bus. My mom and I were the last to get off the school bus.

“If you need a ride back home,” said Ms. Jones. “I can take you in my car.”

“Yes,” said Mom. “Thank you so much.”

My mom took my hand and we walked down the hallway. The classrooms doors were decorated with fall colors and had the teachers named written on a large leaf. My teacher was named Mrs. Burroughs. She was a nice chubby lady with glasses and a crooked smile. Mrs. Burroughs showed me to my desk and went into her off ice to talk to my mom. All of the students were quiet and looking at the chalk board. After awhile, my mom and Mrs. Burroughs came out of her office. My mom came over to my desk and kissed me on the check. Some of the other students giggled.

“I'll see you when you get home,” said Mom.

“Okay,” I said.

We spent most of the morning talking about what we did over summer break. Most of the other children had went on summer vacation to Disneyland ,while others went out of town visiting their grandparents. When it came time for me to tall what I did over the summer, I told everyone that I spent most of my summer indoors after my cataract surgery. One of the students in the class said that his grandfather had eye surgery and had to wear an eye patch like a pirate.

“My goodness,” said Mrs. Burroughs. “Did you have to wear an eyes patch Dinah?'

“Yes, ma'am,” I said.

It was 11:00 am time for recess. We all got in a line behind Mrs. Burroughs and followed her outside to play. There were swings, jungle gym, see saws, slides and merry go round for all of us to play on. I was the first to get on the swing sets. When I got there, there was a little girl sitting on a swing. She had dark brown hair with a crimson ribbon tied into a bow. She looked at me and smiled.

“Hello, said the girl. “My name is Lacey.”

“Hello,” I said. “My name is Dinah.”

I couldn't stop looking at the pink rabbit fur jacket. I had seen one at the Crescents Department Store last winter. My mom took one look at the price and got me a regular jacket with fur around the collar.

“Whose your teacher?” I asked.

“My teacher is named Mrs. Wilson,” said Lacey. “Let's play hide and seek.”

Lacey and I ran an played until the bell rang for us to go inside. Mrs. Burroughs called all her students in and we all ran inside the building. Lacey stayed outside with her class.

“I'll see you tomorrow,” I yelled at her from the doorway.

“Okay,” said Lacey.

Mrs. Burroughs had us to all wash our hands to get ready to got to the cafeteria for lunch. Lacey and I became best friends over the next several weeks. We played together at recess everyday. I told my mom about her and that she was really nice. I had even asked my mom if she could come over our house for a sleepover sometime.

“I'll have to talk to her mother first,' said Mom.

“Okay,” I said. “I'll tell her tomorrow at school.”

I awoke early that Friday morning. I couldn't wait tot ell Lacey about my mom saying it was okay for her to stay the night over our house. This would be my first sleepover with a friend. I had them all the time with my cousins but this time was different. The phone rang while I was in the bathroom getting ready for school. My mom came to the bathroom door.

“Dinah,” said Mom. “School is out for today.”

I opened the bathroom door with a towel wrapped around me.

“What?” I asked.

“That was your teacher,” said Mom. “She said the school is closed for today.”

I finished drying myself off and put my bathrobe on. I went into the living room where mom was sitting with a cup of coffee in her hand.

“Did you say school is out?” I asked.

“Yes,” said Mom.

The neighbor Mrs. Ryan came over and talked to my mom. I overheard them talking about a little girl who had went missing about a year ago. There were police, detectives and a corner at the school and had it blocked off for miles while they investigated the scene. There was a wooded area located around the school. Some hunters hunting with their dogs, found human remains in the woods underneath some brushes. There wasn't much coverage about the story, so many of us knew nothing about a little girl missing. My mother told me to go and get dressed while she started cooking breakfast. I had mixed feeling about being out of school this morning. I was happy that school was out , but I hated it because I couldn't ask Lacey if she wanted to sleep over with me. I sat down o nth sofa and got the remote from the table. I turned on the television and the news anchor was talking about the body found in the woods near the school. They showed a picture on the screen and my mouth dropped. They even said her name was Lacey Monroe. This had been the little girl with the crimson ribbon in her hair that I had been playing wit h on the school play ground for almost a month. “ Could I have been playing with a ghost all this time?” I walked slowly into the kitchen where my mom stood over the stove cooking bacon and eggs. My mom looked at me as I stood there in a daze.

“What's wrong with you?” asked Mom.

“Mom,” I said. “You won't believe what I have to tell you.”

My mom turned of the stove and took my hand. We both went into the living room and I began telling her about my friend Lacey. After I finished telling her the story ,she looked at me and smiled. She told me that she had heard of people telling stories about people who have died that they have seen and talked to.

“You are a special soul,” said Mom. “That's why she appeared to you.”

I never told another person this story ever just my mom. I hated that someone had hurt her that way. I wish that we had met before she went missing. I think she and I would have been the best of friends.