Gettsyburg Ghost

I was maybe 9 or 10 years old when my dad took us to Gettysburg. I was a swimmer planning to try to become an Olympic swimmer. I had no interest whatsoever in traipsing through fields of rocks where some guys I'd never known had died a gazillion years ago.

The morning we arrived at Gettysburg it was overcast and drizzling rain. I'd been swimming until late the night before so was bored and tired. I told my dad to go ahead, I wanted to sit and rest a minute and I'd catch up with him.

I settled down against a boulder in Davil's Den and closed my eyes. Suddenly I sensed I wasn't alone. I opened my eyes and looked around. The ghost of a Ciivl War soldier sat next to me. "Howdy Ma'am," he said, tipping his hat to me.

I stared at him from head to toe. He looked like he hadn't bathed in a week. His boots were worn and muddy, the front of his shirt and jacket stained in crimson.

"I'm not a Ma'am, I'm a kid," I replied.

He threw back his head and laughed, saying "That's what I love about y'all Patty. Y'all always tell it just like it is."

"How do you know my name?" I asked.

"I just do." "Well, aren't ya gonna tell me your name?" I asked.

"Name's Adam," he said.

"Well just so ya know...I think you're dead. Like a ghost or somethin'", I informed him. "And you look like shit."

Adam threw back his head again, laughing while slapping his knee. "Well,: he replied." I done went and got myself shot so I guess I do. But y'all best watch your mouth or your Mama will wash it out with soap again."

How did he know my stepmother washed my mouth out with soap when I cussed? I wondered.

+Adam and I talked for awhile, I liked him. He told me about the war, how he'd left his wife at home, how he missed his mama's peach pie. Then his face grew serious.

"Y'all have a secret, Patty,"he said. "A secret y'all don't tell anyone."

Hoe did he know about my secret?!! I didn't want to talk about it. Telling anyone I was psychic had never been a good thing so I'd learned to hide it. I played with my shoelaces and nearly whispered to Adam "The kids all make fun of me, call me witch, devil and stuff."

"Y'all never mind what those kids call you. Someday y'all are going to do something great that will help many, many people - even those same kids who call y'all names now. What y'all have is a gift, Patty. Never be ashamed of that gift."

With that, Adam said it was time for him to leave. He vanished into thin air.

I'd already decided I wasn't going to tell anyone about my visit from Adam. Who would believe me anyway? I ran to catch up to my family. My dad was taking us to some Civil War museum but my mind was on Adam..

Once inside the museum my eye was drawn to a glass display case of old Civil War photos.

I stared at one photo in particular of a soldier who'd died in Devil's Den of a gunshot wound to the chest.

The caption beneath the photo listed him as "anonymous".

I stared at his face thinking He's not anonymous! His name was Adam!