small enough school that he knew most of the students.
“Miss, are you okay?” Dr. Rob said, approaching her cautiously.
Her head jerked up, and Dr. Rob saw her faded blue eyes were bloodshot from crying. She frowned at him, a puzzled look crossing her face. “Can you…are you talking to me?”
“Of course. Who else would I be talking to? There’s only the two of us here.”
The girl sat up a little straighter, and as Dr. Rob looked at her, he would have sworn he could actually see a blush creeping into her cheeks, and her blue eyes shone out brighter than before. “I haven’t felt this whole in ages,” she said in a quiet, marveling voice.
Dr. Rob stopped at a respectful distance, not wanting to frighten her, and knelt down. “Are you in pain?”
“No…not of the physical variety anyway.”
“I don’t understand. Do you need some help?”
The girl barked a humorless laugh. “Help? I don’t think there is any help for me.”
“What’s your name?”
“Patty. Patty Montgomery.”
Ah, so that was it. A prank. Dr. Rob wondered if Becky might be behind this. She didn’t really seem like a practical-joker, but considering he’d just been telling her about the ghost of Winnie Davis Hall, she seemed the most likely suspect.
“Miss, I don’t know who you are or who put you up to this, but you really shouldn’t be up here. I think it’s time for you to go.”
“Oh, I’ll be going soon enough, don’t you worry.”
“I’m serious, you can’t stay here,” Dr. Rob said and reached out for the girl’s arm, only instead of grasping warm solid flesh, his hand passed right through her. As if she were made up only of air, or was a hologram of some kind.
Dr. Rob scuttled back quickly, losing his balance and landing hard on his bottom.
A look of sympathy softened the girl’s expression. “I look whole, but I’m not. Oh, there was a time when I was corporeal enough to be touched, but those days are long in the past.”
“This is insane,” Dr. Rob said, and his voice sounded strange to his own ears, like someone trying to do an impersonation of him. “You can’t be the ghost of Patricia Montgomery.”
“And why can’t I be?”
“Because Patricia Montgomery never existed, she’s just a myth.”
“Well, it is true enough that I am just a myth, but as you can see it’s not true that I never existed.”
Dr. Rob looked back toward the stairs that would take him down and out of the tower, and a part of him whispered that he should do just that, but a bigger part of him was intrigued, his natural curiosity peaked and demanding answers. “I’m sorry, but you lost me.”
“In this case, it wasn’t a person who created a legend; it was a legend that created a person. Or if not an actual person then at least the manifestation of one.”
“But how?”
Patty shrugged and shook her head. “I don’t know the how or why of it, I just know that over the years there was such belief invested in the story of Patty Montgomery, the tale was told so often and with such enthusiastic detail…well, it sort of gave birth to me.”
“So you’re saying that the urban legend… made you ?”
Patty nodded.
Dr. Rob studied the girl closely. She looked so real, so three-dimensional. Her clothing was not really authentic to the Civil War era, but then he had to remind himself that she wasn’t actually the spirit of a Civil War maiden but was a representation created over the years by the collective belief of students whose knowledge of history was probably tenuous at best. He reached out toward her face then hesitated. “Do you mind?”
“Be my guest.”
He moved as if to stoke her cheek, but again his fingers passed right through her. There was no cold spot or electric tingling in his hand; it was as if nothing was there, despite the fact that he could clearly see her.
“The ghost of a person who never lived,” he said in a quiet church voice. “Fascinating.”
His mind was reeling with
“Miss, are you okay?” Dr. Rob said, approaching her cautiously.
Her head jerked up, and Dr. Rob saw her faded blue eyes were bloodshot from crying. She frowned at him, a puzzled look crossing her face. “Can you…are you talking to me?”
“Of course. Who else would I be talking to? There’s only the two of us here.”
The girl sat up a little straighter, and as Dr. Rob looked at her, he would have sworn he could actually see a blush creeping into her cheeks, and her blue eyes shone out brighter than before. “I haven’t felt this whole in ages,” she said in a quiet, marveling voice.
Dr. Rob stopped at a respectful distance, not wanting to frighten her, and knelt down. “Are you in pain?”
“No…not of the physical variety anyway.”
“I don’t understand. Do you need some help?”
The girl barked a humorless laugh. “Help? I don’t think there is any help for me.”
“What’s your name?”
“Patty. Patty Montgomery.”
Ah, so that was it. A prank. Dr. Rob wondered if Becky might be behind this. She didn’t really seem like a practical-joker, but considering he’d just been telling her about the ghost of Winnie Davis Hall, she seemed the most likely suspect.
“Miss, I don’t know who you are or who put you up to this, but you really shouldn’t be up here. I think it’s time for you to go.”
“Oh, I’ll be going soon enough, don’t you worry.”
“I’m serious, you can’t stay here,” Dr. Rob said and reached out for the girl’s arm, only instead of grasping warm solid flesh, his hand passed right through her. As if she were made up only of air, or was a hologram of some kind.
Dr. Rob scuttled back quickly, losing his balance and landing hard on his bottom.
A look of sympathy softened the girl’s expression. “I look whole, but I’m not. Oh, there was a time when I was corporeal enough to be touched, but those days are long in the past.”
“This is insane,” Dr. Rob said, and his voice sounded strange to his own ears, like someone trying to do an impersonation of him. “You can’t be the ghost of Patricia Montgomery.”
“And why can’t I be?”
“Because Patricia Montgomery never existed, she’s just a myth.”
“Well, it is true enough that I am just a myth, but as you can see it’s not true that I never existed.”
Dr. Rob looked back toward the stairs that would take him down and out of the tower, and a part of him whispered that he should do just that, but a bigger part of him was intrigued, his natural curiosity peaked and demanding answers. “I’m sorry, but you lost me.”
“In this case, it wasn’t a person who created a legend; it was a legend that created a person. Or if not an actual person then at least the manifestation of one.”
“But how?”
Patty shrugged and shook her head. “I don’t know the how or why of it, I just know that over the years there was such belief invested in the story of Patty Montgomery, the tale was told so often and with such enthusiastic detail…well, it sort of gave birth to me.”
“So you’re saying that the urban legend… made you ?”
Patty nodded.
Dr. Rob studied the girl closely. She looked so real, so three-dimensional. Her clothing was not really authentic to the Civil War era, but then he had to remind himself that she wasn’t actually the spirit of a Civil War maiden but was a representation created over the years by the collective belief of students whose knowledge of history was probably tenuous at best. He reached out toward her face then hesitated. “Do you mind?”
“Be my guest.”
He moved as if to stoke her cheek, but again his fingers passed right through her. There was no cold spot or electric tingling in his hand; it was as if nothing was there, despite the fact that he could clearly see her.
“The ghost of a person who never lived,” he said in a quiet church voice. “Fascinating.”
His mind was reeling with
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