Let me introduce myself. My name is Emma, and I live in a shack. Yep, a shack. My family used to live in a nice little home long before I was born, but one day, a man tricked us into giving him our house, and he tore it down, later using the land as a large mansion.All he paid us was a dollar.

My mother, father, and grandfather wandered around for days, looking for shelter. Sometimes, they slept in old abandoned warehouses, or sometimes even in the bushes. They mostly knocked on doors, begging for food and a place to sleep for the night.

One day, they found an old shack, in the middle of a large field. They settled inside as quick as you can blink. At first, they just lay on its floor every night and slept.

After a while, Father found a job. He bought home large boards and tools. He also brought paint and wallpaper, as well as kitchen supplies. He painted the old shack a bright red. He tore away the old doors, and built new screen doors. He patched the roof, created windows, and built a basement.

Then, he worked on the inside.  He built walls to make two rooms. One would be the kitchen, another one a bedroom.  In the basement he built, he made two more rooms. He built some beds, and little wardrobes as well. 

When he was done with the bedrooms, he worked on the kitchen. He bought a stove, and he hung pots and pans on the wall. He made a drawer where Mother could store kitchen supplies,  and he carved a table, and some chairs.

After Father was done with the all of the building, Mother decorated. She planted a garden, growing flowers and vegetables. Next, she sewed blankets and clothing, and a checkered tablecloth.

She knitted scarves, sweaters, hats and mittens for the winter, and stored them in a wardrobe.

After everything was settled in, winter had already come. A year later, I was born.

Now, I sit in my room, waiting for something exciting to happen. The roof is staring to fall apart, and Mother’s garden is covered in weeds. Every time I arrive home, I look at the old shack and sigh. Will something exciting ever happen?

One day, Father finally came with good news.

To be continued.

I felt like I was drowning in nothingness.  I felt a something tug at me, dragging me into the unknown. Was I going to die?  I was starting to become stiff, I could hardly move. I couldn’t struggle anymore. There was no more hope. A wave of darkness was starting to float into me, and I felt like I was being dragged away from the world.  I struggled to stay conscious, but it was no use. I was swallowed into darkness.

When I woke up, I felt even more different. I could actually float out. I turned around, and I lay in the coffin, as cold as stone! Was I really dead? I screamed, but it remained silent. I couldn’t hear anything. Wait- how could the other ghosts hear? But then I slowly thought-the same thing had happened to them! I floated up to the ground, and looked around. I was alone. The “ghosts” that talked to me weren’t real ghosts. I started to cry. I had been tricked, and now I was dead. All of a sudden, A blur of white appeared. It was Grace! “They tricked to trick you, didn’t they,” she said to me. I nodded. “They were fakes. That made you eat grass!” she exclaimed, looking disgusted. Had they been joking? I quivered. “Well, I can change you back,” she said. She raised her hand into the air, and a strong wind spiraled around me. It squeezed me so much, it could’ve killed me,(again)and the world went black. Seconds later, I woke up, and I was alive! Grace was alive, too! “Thank you for saving me,” Grace said. “But I don’t have a place to live.” “We could adopt you!” I exclaimed. She hesitated, and then nodded. “I’ll finally have a normal life again,” she said, smiling at me. We both walked back home.

The end.

I slowly floated over to the ghosts.

I cleared my throat and yelled, “HI! CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME?!”

All of the ghosts turned and faced me. Some whispered to each other. A ghost that looked like an old man in a top hat floated over and said, “Let me guess…that kid ghost traded places with you for a day? I think life is way better, you know."

I quickly ran outside. I felt the cold wind brush against my face. There was no time to grab a sweater. I held the locket tightly in my hands. I felt like I was going to freeze, but I did not turn back.

I stayed on the cold dirt trail, wearing nothing on my feet. I heard the waves from the shore of the river. The water looked so freezing. I walked faster, until I saw a small cemetery at the bottom of the hill.

I shuddered. There WAS a ghost! “MOM! DAD! A GHOST!” I screamed.

Mom and Dad came running downstairs. “What NOW?” Dad asked.

“A-a g-g-host is in this h-h-house!” I stuttered.  “I have proof!”

“Then show us,” Mom replied.

Come on, get up,” Mom said. “We have to go to our new house to help fix the house.”

“Fine,” I replied.

I got dressed and waiting for mom to brush her teeth. Finally, we went. “We are going to paint today,” Dad said.

“Why did we have to move away from California?” I asked Dad. “It’s way too crowded down there, it would be safer to move here in Oregon. Out of all of the states?” I sneered, slumping down in my seat.

The chefs set down the soup on the table. I saw a crew of soldiers walk into the dining room and sit down. I was very hungry after working, so I sat down. The soldiers started to eat at once. Before I lifted up my spoon, Alice came over and whispered, "We have to help clean the kitchen."

I walked over to the kitchen. I cleaned dishes and happily hummed a tune. All of a sudden, I heard a yell and a thud. I rushed out of the kitchen to see what happened. "A lady yelled, "A soldier has been poisoned by the soup! Who was the cook?"

I saw many chefs point at me. Banish her from the ship at once!" a soldier yelled.

Two men grabbed me and dragged me to the deck. It was raining very hard. They tied me in ropes. "What will you do to me?" I asked.

"You will be pushed off the ship!" one of the men said angrily.

I found myself dangling off the ship, face down to the water. The men let go of the rope. I felt cool water splash around me. The ropes were holding me in place, I could not swim at all. I gasped for breath. What was going to happen to me? All of a sudden, I saw someone splash into the water. It was Alice! She grabbed my ropes and swam up to the surface. I quickly breathed in as much air as I could, in relief. "Thank you, Alice," I said, tears squeezing out of my eyes.

"Sarah, I see Boston!" Alice said, pointing to the west. "Home!"

"We must swim to land," I said. "Just take me out of my ropes."

"Don't worry, I will. We don't even have to swim, we can just hang on to the ropes on the side of the ship," she said.

She untied me, and we swam to the side of the ship. We grabbed the ropes, and hung on until we were at shore. Crying tears of joy, I got up and ran to the meadow. My favorite place. Alice walked over to me. "I used to come here in the mornings ever day," she said.

I couldn't believe it-I used to come here everyday! How could we not of met? "I would come here at dusk," I said.

No one talked for a long time. "That is very strange," she said

. But then, she smiled. I smiled too. "I must go see my mother," I said.

"Me too," she said.

"Let's meet here at dawn," I replied.

"Okay," she said.

I hurried over to my home. There it was. I slowly put my hand on the brass doornob, and opened the door. "Mum?" I called out.

Mother came downstairs, and she saw me. Her mouth gaped opened in amazement. "Sarah!" she called out.

I ran over to her and hugged her. "Why were you gone? I was so worried!"

"I-I wanted to go find father," I said.

"We recieved a letter from him-he is not dead, he is coming home!"

"Really?!" I cried."Hoorah!"

"My, you must go change and go to bed," she said. I ran upstairs into the attic. Anne's things were gone-she must have gotten married when I was away. I opened my drawer, and there was my old diary. I quickly open it and wrote-

Dear Diary,

I am home now.

I have realized that father will come back soon.

I can't wait to see him!

I have been gone for five long months, and I am very tired.

It has been a long journey, looking for father, but I traveled for nothing.

Now I feel safe and sound.

January 1st, 1777

The chefs were making breakfast. "Hello, there girls!" one of the chefs said.

We went into our hut and collapsed onto our hammocks. I was wore out.

Alice fell asleep right away, but I wondered what would happen to us. Eventually, I drifted off to sleep. When I woke up, I quietly got up off my hammock and split open a coconut. I sipped up the milk. I got out of the hut and look at the sea. There was a ship! I woke up Alice.

“There’s a ship!” I said.

“Where?” she asked.

“Over there!” I replied, pointing to the ocean. She got up.

“How will we get there?” she asked. I saw some driftwood. It looked stable enough to carry two people. We got on, and using cut bamboo sticks, we rowed over to the boat. It took us about an hour. When we were close, I got up and yelled, “Please help us!” A patriot soldier spotted us, and he threw a rope over to us. We climbed up quickly. “Thank you for saving us!” Alice said. A woman dressed in fancy clothes came out from under the deck.

“Oh my! You girls are in rags. I must dress you in fine clothes, and make you elegant ladies.”

We were fed lots of warm food. We were given fine clothes to wear, and we were giving a cozy room on the ship with warm blankets, and fancy nightgowns.

When we slipped into bed, Alice said, “I was never treated like this at home. My family was poor, and we ate cold porridge and bread every day. We wore plain clothes, and I had to do men’s work.”

I thought of home. My mother would be ashamed of me, if I returned or not. I blew out the candle. I dreamed of my town. I thought of the meadow I would sit in every day, and watch the dock. I had been gone for two months. I woke up and looked around. Alice was still asleep. The sun was starting to rise. I got dressed early. I looked into the drawers before I pushed them away, but then, I saw a dark green book with a quill next to It. It also had a little jug of ink. There was a note inside. It said, “Dear Sarah, you might want this to record your thoughts.” I looked in Alice’s drawer, and there was a blue book in there.

I opened my new green diary, dipped my quill in the ink, and wrote:

“Sunday, March 3^rd, 1775. I am on a ship in the middle of the sea. I have been away from home for two months, in search of my father. I pray each night, asking if I will find him. I have gotten no answer yet, but I hope I will get one soon.”

I closed the book. The sun was up now, and I heard the thump of feet across the deck. I got up and opened the door.