The Boy Who Wasn't There PDF

# The Boy Who Wasn't There ## A mystery by Hans Wilhelm "Surely it is a little conceited of us to suppose we are the only spiritual inhabitants of this world?" -Robertson Davies ## I. The Mysterious Stranger It all began many years ago on a cold and windy day in December. The waves were beating...

# The Boy Who Wasn't There ## A mystery by Hans Wilhelm "Surely it is a little conceited of us to suppose we are the only spiritual inhabitants of this world?" -Robertson Davies ## I. The Mysterious Stranger It all began many years ago on a cold and windy day in December. The waves were beating against the shore of the rocky coast of New England. Sarah was sitting in the bay window of a big house, looking out at the gray sky. She was playing with her friends, Punch and Polly. They were puppets. Sarah wished she had a real friend to play with. But there were no other children nearby, and she had not made any friends at boarding school either. Now that she was home for Christmas vacation, she felt very lonely. "I want to go out!" said Punch. "I want to go to the beach." "It's too cold and windy." Polly said. "Nonsense!" Punch said. "The wind is fun. Let's go." Sarah always sided with Punch, so she took the puppets and went outside. The seagulls were screaming above her as she made her way down to the shore. Usually Sarah liked to play on the rocks. But today she didn't feel like it. She sat down and pulled the coat closer around her. The empty beach made her feel even more lonely than before. Sarah picked up Punch and Polly, hoping they would cheer her up. But now they only looked at her with their lifeless wooden faces. "Silly toys!" she said, and threw them down. With a stick, Sarah began to draw pictures in the sand. First she drew a picture of herself. Then very carefully she drew another figure right next to it. Suddenly Sarah had the eerie feeling that somebody was watching her. "What a nice picture of you and your friend," said a voice next to her. With a jerk, Sarah turned around and found herself looking right into the face of a boy she had never seen before. "Who are you?" she asked. "Where did you come from?" The boy didn't answer. He just smiled. Then finally he said, "Don't worry. It will turn out all right. You will have a best friend very soon." Sarah felt the blood rush to her face. She turned away. "Oh really?" she said angrily. "What do you know about if? One thing is certain: It won't be you. I don't like boys who like to scare people." She waited for him to speak. But when Sarah looked up, the boy was gone. He was nowhere to be seen. Where could he have gone so fast? Was he hiding behind the rocks? "Hey! Come here!" Sarah cried. "Where are you?" Sarah got up and searched the rocks. But she didn't find the boy anywhere. What's more, the only footprints in the sand were her own. Did I imagine it all? Sarah wondered. Neither the wind nor the waves would give her an answer.