EmphaticSentence
It was in the library of a large, old house, on the day before Christmas, that I heard the story you are about to read. Many of my friends and I had gathered together at a home outside town to spend a few days celebrating the holiday. In the evening, following an old tradition, we began to tell stories.
A man named Griffin started with a story about a young boy who saw a ghost while lying in bed .The boy immediately tried to wake his mother, so that she, too, could see what he was seeing. The ghost, however, had disappeared by the time she opened her eyes.
Everyone at the party listened without saying a word. They were terribly frightened by the idea of a ghost bothering a child.
It made the story twice as interesting and it made them twice as afraid.
After the story had finished, I noticed that my friend, Douglas, seemed troubled by something. Then, putting his drink down on the table before him, he told everyone that he also had a story to tell
“if you thought Griffin’s story was frightening, wait until you hear what I have to tell you,” he said, “In my story a ghost visits, not just a little boy, but a young girl too. I promise you that you’ve never heard anything like it before.”
“oh, It sounds so terribly interesting!” commented one woman.
“yes, old boy, do continue!” said another guest.
Douglas’s face became serious, and he looked almost everyone in the eye before speaking
“I’m the only one who knows this story. Believe me. very few people can hear it and not be very upset by it”
“good, That’s all the more reason to tell us,” I said.
Everyone in the room laughed, except for Douglas, who just put his hand on the back of his head. he seemed to be thinking about whether or not he should tell us. He walked back and forth in front of the fireplace. And then stood looking out of the window for a moment before turning around to speak.
“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t possibly tell you this without the story in front of me. I have it on paper at home.”
Everyone cried out with disappointment.
“if you want to hear it so badly, you will have to wait until my servant brings it from my home in the city .I can send him a message this evening.”
“Yes,please do!”many people said.
“is this about something that happened to you?”I then asked.
“no,no,no!My goodness,no!”he replied.
“but then how are you the only person to know the story?Did someone tell you and you wrote it down yourself?”
“I read the story in a letter that was sent to me by a woman many years ago,”he answered
Comments came from the crowd suggesting that it was an old lover or girlfriend.Douglas smiled at this and admitted that he had liked the woman;however,she had been much too old for him.
“she died twenty years ago. a very wonderful woman, indeed.” he added, “I met her during one of my summer breaks in college. She taught my sister in our parents’ home. Occasionally, she and I would walk together and chat. I found her very interesting and intelligent. The story you’ll be hearing happened many years before I had met her. I’m certain that I was the only person she ever told.