He’d watched that ghosty boy tracing over those letters on the wall with his ghosty finger and heard him say “Jim” every time he did, like he be calling out for somebody. Thomas didn’t know no letters except for X, so how he supposed to write his name and let folks know he still here? He been trying to tell that ghosty boy ever since he shown up here, but the ghosty boy wouldn’t listen. Thomas stood next to him at night and said, Listen to me! Said, Let me tell you something! And then he tell the ghosty boy the whole story, even if that boy act like he don’t hear a word.
He’d say, Me and my folks and all the rest of them was coming down the path through the woods at night when we heard the hounds, and then that man guiding us say, Go to the cabin, hide there till it’s safe. They’s a place to hide under the floor, and the old lady, she’ll tell them catcher mens to go away.
So then we got to this place and climbed through a hole in the floor and we was hiding and it smelled like dirt and damp and there was things crawling on me and then there was a skinny ole snake just slithering toward me—couldn’t see it, but I could hear it!—and I just set out to yelling and yelling and they was all saying, Thomas! Stop! Hush! Them mens gonna hear you!
But I just couldn’t stop. That snake was crawling closer, and it was gonna slide into my ear, I just knowed it. I just had to yell and scream, and then Big Charles come right beside me and said, Sweet Jesus, forgive me, and he pull me to his side, and at first I felt all safe and good, ’cause Big Charles be the biggest one of all, and weren’t no snake gonna crawl into my ear with Big Charles near me. But then Big Charles pulled me into him so that my mouth be all covered up and I tried to suck in some air, but I couldn’t find any anywhere.
Well, didn’t take too long for little stars to start dancing across my eyes, and then it be black as night for a long, long time, until one day I just sort of rose up outta that hole, but weren’t nobody here.
You the first one who stayed any amount of time, Thomas always told the ghosty boy. I been thinking maybe they sent you to carry me across the river, so I can meet my folks on the other side. But you don’t say nothing. You never even asked if you could be here. Just showed up like this your place. I don’t mind to share it, but why won’t you act like you know I’m here too? Just turn around? Just say hello?
That ghosty boy, well, it was like somebody hit him from behind whenever Thomas said that. So why wouldn’t he turn around? Why wouldn’t he just for once turn around and say hey?