That Night

That Night

“I dare you to go in there.” Reggie said.

The group was too old for trick or treat, too young for anything serious, just looking for fun for Halloween A school night too, had to be home early.

At the cemetery after running out of ideas, Reggie thought a dare would rev things up. “Chicken?” They scoffed, the kind that sound like trying to convince everyone they weren’t. Reggie zoned in on Bob because he hadn’t.

“You,” he pointed, “go in and see if anyone’s around....” he snickered, “alive, or dead...”

Bob just looked at him, turned and walked in. He glanced back as he rounded the bend, they were all snickering. Probably betting on how long before he’d come running back.

He never came back. The other boys waited till almost curfew, then actually called one of their older brothers and walked the whole cemetery. Nobody was there. They even went over to Bob’s house but it was all dark.

The next day Bob didn’t show up at school and they got frantic. After school, they went to his house and found it completely empty. No Bob, no family, no furniture, empty.

It stayed with those boys all their lives, especially Reggie who eventually ended up in an asylum.

One day years later, one of them, now in his fifties, and running a shelter in the city, was in town. He happened upon a retired teacher they’d all had and asked about the incident.

Thinking for a while, he said, “Oh! Bob Green you mean?” surprised at the question. Oh, his family just moved to Phoenix, he had stayed with his grandparents that last month, October I think, while his parents drove the moving van to their new place. The grandparents lived over near the cemetery, if I remember...