Strange Occurrences

By Ashlee Craft

There are people in the world that seem to have everything - a perfect life, a perfect family, and perfect friends. Cathy wasn’t one of those people.

Cathy’s life had rapidly gone down hill in a year. Her best friend moved away, never to contact her again, her mother and brother constantly argue, her sister gives her the cold shoulder, her grandmother is dying, and her father works constantly to avoid their home environment. Cathy’s sole confidant becomes her dog, and she falls into despair.

One night, the time comes for Cathy to say her last good byes to her grandmother. As Cathy is about to leave her grandmother’s room, she is summoned back over, where Cathy is told of her grandmother’s experiences with something she calls the “Strange Occurrences.”

When Cathy returns home that night and sets out to walk her dog, she is thrown into the past by the Strange Occurrences, forced to relieve old memories of her life and see things from other people’s points of view. Through the knowledge she learns on her journey of self discovery, will she be able to overcome the darkness in her life and change things for the better?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ashlee Craft
• Release date: Feb 28, 2012
• ISBN: 9781465950673

Ashlee Craft

Ashlee Craft is an author, poet, artist, musician, filmmaker, & photographer. She has written more than 45 books in a variety of genres, & publishes a monthly art & poetry zine called Assemblage. Ashlee is also the CEO of the publishing company Freedom Meadow Media, & has been featured in a segment on Fox News. She can be found writing on her blog, Ashlee Craft's World, creating art, & living by her life-is-a-playground ideology.

Book preview

Strange Occurrences

Ashlee Craft

Copyright 2010 Ashlee Craft

Smashwords Edition

Independently Published by Ashlee Craft

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Nothing is Right in Life

Chapter 2: The Strange Occurrences

Chapter 3: Sad Good Byes

Chapter 4: Good Deeds and Fun

Chapter 5: Walnut

Chapter 6: Saving Lives and Seeing Lives

Chapter 7: Mom’s Side of the Story

Chapter 8: Jason’s Side of the Story

Chapter 9: Priscilla’s Side of the Story

Chapter 10: Dad’s Side of the Story

Chapter 11: Jane’s Side of the Story

Chapter 12: My Side of the Story

Chapter 13: Home!

Chapter 14: New Beginnings and Trying Again

Chapter 15: Failed Attempts

Chapter 16: Seems Like an Ending

Chapter 17: Return

Chapter 18: The Truth

Chapter 19: Changes

Chapter 20: The Grand Finale

Text copyright © 2010 by Ashlee Craft

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the author.

All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Cover art by Ashlee Craft

Dedicated to Mom, Dad, Cierra, and Megan, who inspired and encouraged me throughout the writing process.

The power to change everything has been with you all along. To see it, you just have to look in the right places.

Chapter 1: Nothing is Right in Life

There are people in the world that seem to have everything - a perfect life, a perfect family, and perfect friends. I’m not one of those people.

My shoes hit the cement of the sidewalk with a consistent thump, thump, thump, as I try to gather my thoughts. The winter wind blowing through my straight dark brown waist-length hair is warm, as it never gets very cold in central Florida. I tightly hold onto my dog Sparkle's green leash, hoping no one will talk to me on this wonderful Saturday afternoon.

Sparkle is a Jack Russell Terrier, is three years old, and is my best friend in the entire world. When Sparkle was only a puppy, I saw her tied up in the neighbor’s back yard without any food, water, or shelter. Her owners beat her all the time, and when I reported this to my parents, they called animal control. Animal control arrested the owners for animal abuse, and I ended up being able to adopt Sparkle. To get her to be the trusting dog she is now, I had to work with her a lot. Her physical wounds had to mend, just as she had to learn how to trust people unconditionally. I guess I trust her as much as she trusts me.

I smile down at Sparkle, who walks along through the grass, sniffing all sorts of smells. Walking is my way of getting away from my problems. When my heart gets pumping in rhythm with my legs, everything is different. I imagine that every step I take, I’m farther from that world filled with hopelessness and despair. And sadly, that terrible world is where I live. But when I run, I am free. It’s just me and Sparkle.

I look to my left to see some children playing in a yard, running and laughing. The kids all look to be around the same age, seven or eight, and seem to think there isn’t a care in the world. To most people, this would make them happy. It doesn’t work the same way with me though.

Since my best friend Jane moved away, I have not made any more friends. The whole time, I guess I was just like, Oh, Jane will write to me. She’s my best friend. I don’t need another friend when I’ve got her. But after a while of thinking that, I realized she totally dumped me. I thought we were friends! All of those long hours playing, running in the yard; those sunny days picnicking in the park and swinging. Those long nights, talking on the phone to her, telling her my greatest memories. That total trust, broken. Some people say, ‘Oh, you’ll learn lessons from everything that happens’.

True. What I learned from Jane is to NEVER trust anybody or anything, including life.

Besides, I am just so shy that I can hardly talk to anyone! I have trouble talking to most people, sometimes including my family. If they ask me an awkward question, I freeze up and get nervous, upset, or mad. Grandma, Jane, and Sparkle are the only creatures on earth that I felt completely comfortable with.

When Jane first moved away, we told each other how we would write each other every day. What a liar. Now, six months later, she still hasn't written me. She is now officially my ex-best friend. It's like she disappeared from the face of the earth! Now, I only have Sparkle, and she can't even talk to me! No one listens to me and the world seems boring. There’s nothing to do! No one seems to care about me except for Sparkle.

I look ahead of me and see a different street. At the beginning of it there are some big, old oak trees and pretty red pansies. It's the one my dad drove down once to show us a road that leads to a trail in the woods. I check my watch and see that I still have thirty minutes to check out that trail. Even though my parents don’t care about me, they still set annoyingly short time limits to my excursions.

Now, I've told my parents I'd just be in the neighborhood, but I need to go to the woods. Not like they’d really care about that. Not like I’d tell them. I keep walking forwards and Sparkle follows me down the street. I walk along in peace for a few minutes, when I hear the dreaded sound.

Hi.

I flinch and look over to see an older lady standing in front of a beautiful house, holding a hose. She is watering a big yellow sunflower in a green pot. I break into a sweat and my cheeks turn bright red. She just ruined my silence!

I hurry down the road without saying a word. Some people may consider me rude, but it's not that! I want to change! I want to talk to people, I want to help people, but no matter how hard I try, I just can’t seem to. It just seems like someone zips my mouth shut when I am near someone, especially someone I don't know. I try my hardest, but my

hardest isn't good enough. Nothing I do is good enough for anyone’s standards, including mine.

I veer to the left and head down the path and into the dark green forest. Trees, shrubbery, and fallen branches surround me like a cocoon. The only sounds I can hear are the rustling leaves, the thump-thump of my feet hitting the hard packed sand trail, and Sparkle’s collar jingling. These are the best and most assuring sounds in the whole world to me.

After walking for a few minutes, I see a clearing and decide to sit down in the green moss. I wrap my arms around my knees, wrest my chin on my knees, and look at the beauty around me. It’s so pure, unlike me. I never did anything good in my life. I have never saved anybody, did anything right, or had any true friends. I even killed my pet rabbit.

When I was younger, my neighbors gave me their pet rabbit when they moved. The rabbit’s name was Walnut, and he lived in a hutch outside. Everyone thought I took good care of it, but when it died suddenly, I blamed myself. After all, if I would have taken care of him properly, he would still be alive. And when I see a movie or read a book with a hero in it, it makes me feel even worse! I’ve never saved anyone’s life, much less done anything to help anyone.

I sigh as I think about my ruined family.

My Dad goes to work before we get up and comes home when we are about to go to bed, so I hardly see him. He always stays in his room watching TV on weekends.

My mom could keep the house clean if she wanted to, but she never tries hard enough. Our house is a complete mess! Mom home schools us and tries to make it fun for us, but my brother and my sister always ruin it.

My younger brother Jason, who is eleven, always starts arguments with my mom and does graffiti on buildings.

My sister Priscilla, who is ten, always calls me names and makes fun of me. My parents never stop her! And she always blames me for things she does!

My only relative that lives near me is my grandmother, and she is dying at her house near the woods a few miles away! All my other relatives we don’t really know and are not very close to us, literally.

I check my watch again and see I only have five minutes to get home! If I don't make it back in time, my mom will scold me and I'll have to face an embarrassing explanation. We will need to run at top speed to get there. Luckily, Sparkle has a ton of energy and loves to exercise.

Run, Sparkle! Let's go home!

Sparkle breaks into a run and I go my fastest just to keep up with her. The smaller the dog, the faster they go! My feet pound on the sidewalk as we run as fast as we can. We race all the way to my medium sized yellow and white house, situated in