Every town seems to have one big ghost story or legend wrapped up in folklore and mystery. The village of Sallix was no different. Deep within the misty forest that created the village’s southern border was a crumbling, decrepit tower. This tower had long since been overrun by Mother Nature and was the only part of the Castle of Sallix that had remained intact after decades of abandonment.

The Duke and Duchess of Sallix had lived in the castle with their two daughters until one day, the family disappeared into thin air, and the servants fled the castle in hysterics. They claimed that the castle was haunted and that they’d seen ghosts within it. No one knew what had become of the family, only that they were gone. The story had faded into legend, and no one in their right mind would dare approach the tower.

For some reason, teenage boys do not always seem to be in their right minds when it comes to adventure and risks. When Henry Fern’s friends got into a fight, they dared him to enter the tower alone. The fight had ensued because Henry had refused to sneak out with his friends to drink some beer that one boy had nicked from his father’s store in the cellar. They called him names and said he was a coward. For Henry to prove that he was not a coward, he would have to enter the haunted Tower of Sallix.

As the boys approached the tower, they suddenly heard a sound that chilled them to the bone—the sound of a woman’s weeping. And it was coming from the tower itself.

“W-well, go on, Henry. Prove ya ain’t chicken,” the leader’s voice squeaked.

With a terrified gulp, Henry slowly walked up the rickety stone steps, one by one. The weeping grew louder as he grew closer and closer, and his heart was pounding. Finally, when he reached the dirt, he reached out and knocked. The weeping stopped immediately, and Henry’s heart sank to the very bottom of his toes.

He watched in stunned horror as the doorknob turned and creaked open with a vicious squeak. In the doorway stood a gorgeous, shimmery specter of a teenage girl very close to Henry’s own age of seventeen. “Hello. What brings you to this accursed place?”

Henry was unable to say a word with his heart blocking his throat. Suddenly, one of the boys hollered, “Henry? Are you still alive?”

He turned and found his voice again. “Yeah, I’ll be down in a minute!” When he looked at the ghostly girl again, she was staring at the ground.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she murmured as she closed the door in his face.

Henry lay awake that night. He couldn’t get the ghost girl out of his mind. He hadn’t told any of his friends the truth of what he’d seen, but he knew after his interaction with the girl that she meant no harm. If she had wanted to steal his soul, she would have had the perfect opportunity to do so, after all.

Henry tossed and turned until he resolved in his mind that he would go back to the Tower of Sallix. He had to learn more about the girl he had seen. Maybe she even knew what had happened to the family who had once resided there. With this new plan in mind, he was finally able to fall asleep.

The next day, Henry awoke and finished his chores as quickly as possible. He knew his parents would think he had gone to play with his friends and wouldn’t be searching for him. And since it was summer, his friends would not be ready to play until after dinner at midday.

He raced through the forest until the tower came into view. He paused for a moment, the old fear returning. “It’s ok,” he whispered to himself, “the girl in there isn’t scary. She’s just—sad.” He took a great deep breaths to calm his racing heart before he approached the tower again. When he got close enough, he could hear the weeping again.

When he finally arrived at the rotting oak door, he knocked. Again, the weeping stopped, and the door creaked open. The wisp of a girl looked at Henry with surprise. “You? You came back?”

“Yes,” he stammered, “I-I was—you didn’t hurt me yesterday.”

She looked up at him curiously. “You’re not afraid of me?”

Henry’s pulse spiked. “No, that would be a lie, but—I don’t think you mean any harm? I-I couldn’t get your face out of my mind. Was it you that was crying so bitterly before?”

She stared at the ground and nodded. “Yes, I was crying. I cry every day, mourning what my parents and I have lost.” The ghost looked back up. “Would you be willing to come inside?”

Though his heart was still pounding, Henry nodded. She waved for him to follow her inside, and as he did the door shut behind him. Henry shuddered as he followed the specter. She floated—did not walk—down the hall and into the sitting room. Inside, Henry saw that there were two more ghosts, a man and wife, who floated beside the fireplace. They looked up at him in shock before turning to the girl. “Seline, what is this?” the male specter asked.

“He came back, Father,” Seline said. “He seemed so scared last night that I didn’t think he would.”

Turning to Henry, the man asked, “Why did you come back, boy?”

“I-I-I saw how sad your daughter looked. No, it was deeper than just sorrow.” Henry paused and shook his head. “I couldn’t get her face out of my mind, and I had no rest until I resolved to come here again in the morning.”

Smiling at his response, the man continued, “What’s your name, boy?”

“My name is Henry. Who were—are all of you?”

With a sad smile, the man nodded toward his daughter. “That is my daughter Seline, and my wife and I were once the Duke and Duchess of Sallix, Duke and Duchess Ferdinand.”

Paling, Henry immediately dropped to one knee. “Forgive me, your highnesses.”

The man chuckled softly. “It’s all right, young man.”

Standing, Henry’s stomach growled that it was mid-day, almost time for dinner. “Sorry,” he said, “I should probably get going before my family starts to wonder where I am. It was wonderful to meet you all.”

“Let me escort you back to the door,” Seline murmured.

Henry made it home in time for dinner with his parents and little sister. Quietly, he ate his chicken and rice while his mind spun. While he was pondering all that had happened that morning, Henry’s father, Mr. Fern, one of the village elders, tapped his fork against his glass. In Henry’s family, that meant that Father had something of importance to tell his family.

“The council and I have been discussing the old tower of Sallix, and we have decided to demolish it. Now that the tower is falling apart, it is highly unsafe.”

Henry’s heart pounded silently. “What about the ghosts, Father? Isn’t the tower haunted?”

“Bah! That’s just some old story someone made up. While ‘tis true that no one knows what became of the Ferdinands, the least likely explanation is ghosts.” Straightening himself, Mr. Fern continued, “We will begin the demolition work a week from today.”

Henry suddenly lost his appetite. “May I be excused?”

Assessing his plate, Mrs. Fern said, “You can go back outside to play with your friends after you’ve eaten all your corn.”

After obediently finishing his vegetables, Henry set his plate on the kitchen counter and raced to the door. But to his dismay, he was greeted by his friends. “Hey, Henry. Haven’t seen much of ya today.”

“Sorry, I’ve been busy. Um, have any of y’all heard about the elders’ decision to tear down the haunted tower?”

A few of the boys who did not have a father as a village leader were shocked, but most of the boys nodded. The leader of their group of boys sneered, “Yeah, we heard about it. An’ when I mentioned the crying we heard last night, my father said it was just the wind. There ain’t nothing to be afraid of out there.

“Say, I just got an idea.” Addressing all the boys, he said, “Why don’t we go back to the tower and throw some rocks through the windows?”

“What?” Henry exclaimed. “That’s crazy!”

Sneering, the leader got up in Henry’s face and said coolly, “Whatsa matter? Are ya being chicken on us again?” The other boys mocked Henry by clucking and flapping their arms like chicken wings.

Henry felt his cheeks burn. “No!” He nearly shouted. “I’m not chicken! But when I was there last night, I saw the crying ghost with my own two eyes! If you do this, you could make the ghost mad. They might come after you.”

The boys roared with laughter, and Henry felt disgusted. How had he ever been friends with these boys? And why had he been so desperate to try to earn their approval? “You can laugh all you want. I’m not going with you.”

“Your loss!” The leader gasped between laughing. With that, the boys ran off through the forest toward the tower.

Henry stomped back inside. He was angry at the people he’d once called his friends, but there was also something nagging at the back of his mind. “I have to go back,” he murmured to himself. “I can’t let Seline and her parents” home be destroyed without trying to help them.”

When Henry was about halfway to the tower, he heard screaming. The screaming grew louder, and as Henry rounded the next bend, he saw that the group of boys that had once appeared so arrogantly confident were scrambling to get back home. The leader saw Henry and screamed, “Go back! Go back!”

Henry grabbed the leader’s arm. “What’s going on?”

With wide-eyed terror, the leader trembled as he shrieked, “It isn’t the wind! The crying was real!”

“How do you know?”

“Be-because there’s _laughter_ now! Have you ever heard of a _laughing_ wind?” Henry shook his head. “Turn back now if you want to live!” And with that, the boy ripped his arm from Henry’s grasp and raced away as fast as he could.

Henry only chuckled wryly. “Serves you right for trying to hurt my friends, you coward,” he muttered under his breath. He continued onward, and as he approached the tower, he smiled. The boys were right. He could hear laughter—Seline’s laughter. A pain shot through his heart as he thought of the grim news he had to tell her family about their home.

He hesitated on the first cracked stone step. “I could always go back,” Henry murmured. “They’re ghosts, so no one’s gonna hurt them, really—“ His voice trailed off as the guilt began to weigh heavily upon his heart. “No! I’ve come this far. I need to tell them. I can’t turn back now!”

Resolutely, Henry marched up the spiral staircase and finally reached the door. He knocked on it for the third time in twenty-four hours. It swung open more quickly this time to reveal a smiling Seline. “Back so soon, Henry?”

“Yes, but—I fear this visit will not be as pleasant.” Concerned, Seline frowned and ushered Henry to the sitting room.

“Mother, Father.” The two parental ghosts were “sitting” on the couch. At the sound of their daughter’s voice, they stood and turned to face her.

“Henry? Back so soon?” Duke Ferdinand asked.

Yes, I-I’m afraid I have some rather troubling news.” Pausing, Henry took a deep, shaky breath and continued. “My father and the other village elders have elected to tear down your tower, your home. They said that the destruction will start a week from today.”

(TBC)