Every year, on a special day I return to my home, something I have done for many years, a home near a picturesque

lake, in Warden County, Virginia. I had reside d here in Warden County for several years as a child in a small lovely red farm house. It had a rap around porch that I could ride my bike around. The farm was short of a working farm, but even so I had plenty of chores to do. It was here I was taken in by two older ladies after my family tragedy. Besides me, a young g irl of fourteen, had been taken in years earlier then my arrival. I had just had a birthday and turned ten, a birthday I will never forget. My par ents, just weeks before had died in a car accident. A drunk sixteen year old boy had crossed the middle lane causing a head on collision involving my parent s car . The driver along with three friends died also when their car burst into flames . They had been drinking at a house party, when deciding to leave the party and go swimming at a nearby lake. Friends of my parents, two older ladies Miss Rachel and Miss Silvia Walters, fro m the next farm over, quickly took me in, for I had no other relatives and no pl ace to go. If not for them I don t know where I would have ended up, probably in f oster care. The ladies, sisters who had no family except for the young girl they had taken in several years before me. They were eager to bring me into their ho me knowing I had no home to go back to. And so, I was fortunate they asked me to join them. It was here I first met Trisha. Still devastated over losing my parents, I took comfort with Trisha. A somber gi rl who spent most of her time to herself. She was a slender girl with long curly blond hair, deep blue eyes and soft spoken. One night of my first week with no family, she came to my room when she heard me crying. She had come to help me co pe and to provide company. From then on she would console me nightly when I awak ened to terrible dreams of my parent s accident. She always was there for me and s he had a manner to relieve my sorrow. It was as if she had gone through the same before me. Every day, rain or shine, Trisha would wander off down to the lake behind the fa rm house. Sometimes, she would take a bible with her to read by the lake. The fe w times I followed her, I would watch her as she read. There were times she woul d sit at the water s edge and stare into the water, talking to herself. Her stare was so focused, at times I imagined she was talking to someone in the water. I thought that one day I would leave the house and get to the lake before she go t there, but this time I would take binoculars. I had to see what she was gazing at and who or what she was speaking to. It was driving me crazy. I knew it was wrong to spy on her, but at ten, a boy will do impulsive things. So, one bright sunny Saturday morning I got up early, had breakfast, and hastened to the lake. I found a good spot to watch Trisha, she would always sit in the same spot near a big rock covered by branches of an oak tree. Not far from the rock, I found a high knoll with cover, a perfect spot to watch her from. Trisha came to the lake just after I had settled in. However, this time somethin g was different. She wore a white dress, her hair hung in a ponytail, and she wa s carrying a small white case. Sitting down, she put the case on her lap, placin g her elbows on top, folding her hands under her chin as if in deep thought. I b rought the binoculars to my eyes and focused in. What is she doing? I could see tears trickle from her pretty blue eyes. She was crying, I felt so s ad for her. Then I saw it! A few feet before Trisha a white figure appeared jus

t beneath the water crest. Trisha was looking at the figure. Then I could see sh e began to speak to it while tears streamed down her face. This went on for a few minutes. Standing up, she moved toward the figure, steppi ng into the water, ankle deep, then knee deep. Oh my God, what is she doing? She continued sauntering into the water, hip deep, chest deep, neck deep. I jump ed up and with a gasp called out to her. Trisha, Trisha, what are you doing? Standing there in disbelief, I dropped the binoculars and ran to her. While I wa s in flight, she turned back, glanced with a smile on her face, and went under w ater. When I got to the rock, I could see two white figures close together, hold ing hands, disappearing under rings of water altogether. Turning, I ran as fast as I could to the farm house, my mind racing with wild th oughts, Mrs. Walters, Mrs. Walters! I screamed as I pulled the kitchen screen door open and dashed inside. Stopping short, I saw the sister s sitting at the table across from each other. Both had ha ndkerchiefs in their hands dabbing at their eyes. I yelled, Trisha went into the water, I think she is trying to drown herself, I couldn t help her, I couldn t help! Sit here Lenny, said Miss Rachel. My eyes began tearing as Miss Rachel put her h and on top of mine. Trisha did not drown herself. She went back home to her mother. You see, Trisha i s but a spirit from the lake. She comes to us for only for her special time ever y year. Her family were the original owners of this farm a long time ago. But, t here was a tragedy on this farm many years ago. Trisha s father died a horrible de ath in this house by her hand. She had an ailing mind and she was constantly reb uked by her father and the town s people. They said she was possessed by the devil because of an act she was caught at. One night as she lay in her bedroom, her f ather and the preacher entered her bedroom without knocking. They caught her in a sinful act that was considered sinful in those times. She was going through a stage in life that renders a girl into a woman. Her father and the preacher along with the community brought about much pain to Trisha. Sneering, and disdain to her life began from that time on. The preacher brought this word of this sinful act to the attention of the community. Then Tri sha s mother died within that year of a broken heart while witnessing her daughter s condemnation. Trisha s father, for reasons of his own, blamed the mother for his daughter s sin. Went the mother died, the preacher persuaded Trisha s father to ento mb her body in the lake. There her soul will remain purified forever. After her mother s passing, Trisha was disheartened by what her father and preacher did to h er life and her mother s life. One early morning she took her father s and the preac her s life, and then took her own life with poison. For the last three decades, Tr isha returns to the farm yearly for two months. Here she repents her sins for ta king two lives and her own. It is only now that she completed her repenting and can enter the lake to be with her mother forever. Whatever Trisha did in her lifetime did not obstruct my feelings for her. She wa s a blessing for me on those dreadful nights. I always hoped I would see her aga

in. Now, every year I return to the lake on my birthday to wish her happiness th at she now is free forever