Sarah Burgos loved to baby-sit. The bubbly 14-year-old was one of the most popular sitters in her neighborhood. Sarah loved to get down on the floor with the toddlers and play games and read them bedtime stories. And if the kids were extra good, she'd let them stay up an extra hour_ as long as they didn't tell their parents.
Every baby-sitting job was pretty much the same_ pleasant and uneventful. That is, until the night she went to sit for Mr. and Mrs. Kevin and Jessica Trump, who lived a couple of blocks away. Sarah was a last-minute replacement for their regular sitter, and older teenager who was sick.
The Trumps were a little concerned because it would be the first time they had ever left their six-month-old son David in the care of such a young sitter.
After showing Sarah the baby's room, where David was sleeping peacefully in his cot, Mrs. Trump said, "we'll be home pretty late because we'll be at the theater and then at a party afterwards. Here are the phone numbers of where you can reach me as well as the number of the doctor and our next door neighbor if there's any problems."
"There's no need to worry, Mrs. Trump ,"said Sarah. I'm an experienced sitter, and besides, if there's a problem my mother is only a few minutes away."
"David has a bottle and should sleep through the night" said Mrs. Trump. "Help yourself with anything in the refrigerator if you get hungry. We'll call you after the show. Good-bye. And, Sarah don't let anyone in".
When the Trumps left, Sarah locked the front door and checked the windows and back door to make they were secure too. Then, like most sitters in a new house, she took a quick tour of the home. It was a small one-story house with a living room, dinning room, kitchen, two bedroom, and one bath a typical house in that neighborhood.
Sarah plopped down on the couch and turned on the TV with the remote control. To her dismay, the wards didn't have cable. Well, this is going to be a boring night, she thought.
It was going to be a night she'll never forget.
From time to time, Sarah checked in on the baby, who continued to sleep peacefully. Around 11:30 p.m., Mrs. Trump called and Sarah assured her that everything was okay. With nothing worth watching on television, Sarah picked up a magazine and began reading. The house was very quiet. Her eyelids kept getting heavier, and soon she fell asleep.
Sarah woke up with a jolt. As her eyes began to focus, her heart almost leaped into her throat. Standing in front of her was a tall, elderly woman with her hair tied up in a neat bun. She was wearing a white blouse with a blouse with lace collar under a dark blue suit. There was something very strange about her, but Sarah didn't know what it was. Her skin was very pale, her forehead was lined with deep wrinkles, and her eyes where wide with worry.
Who-who are you? Sarah stammered.
Come! Come !" Urged the old woman. "It's David!"
Sarah leaped off the couch, dashed into the bursery, and flipped on the light. The baby was gasping and turning blue. "He's choking to death!" Cried Sarah. Help me!" She turned around, but the woman had vanished.
For a brief moment Sarah felt paralyzed. Her mind went blank. All her previous baby-sitting experience and all the training she had taken in first-aid class suddenly meant nothing.
David's face was turning a darker shade of blue. Think, Sarah, think, the sitter told herself. Don't pacnic!
Just then she noticed that the old woman had reappeared back and was now by her side. "Rest his stomach on your left arm so his head is hanging down," the woman instructed Sarah. There's something stuck in his throat. Reach inside and get it out".
Sarah did as she was told and pulled out of the baby's mouth a small gold locket without a chain. David gurgled , cough, and then started to cry. No wailing had ever sounded so good to Sarah. As she comforted the baby and held him tightly with her arms, Sarah breathed a sigh of relief relief and turned to thank the old woman. But she was gone.
After David had calmed down and gone back to sleep, Sarah tiptoed out of the nursery and into the living room. Her heart was still pounding, and her hands were trembling from David's brush with death.
Who was the old woman? Where had she come from? Sarah didn't remember hearing any doors open or close. She then checked the front and back doors. They were still locked from the inside, and the windows were secure too. She walked into every room, but there was no sign that anyone had been in the house.
Was this all a bad dream? Sarah wondered. Was I imagining the old woman? She went back into the nursery where David was sound asleep. Maybe none of this happened. Maybe it was just a dream. But it sure seemed real.
Just as Sarah has convinced herself that it was a nightmare, she remembered the locket she pulled out of David's throat. It was sitting on top of the baby's dresser, right were she had left it. This was no dream, that's for sure.
She walked back into the living room, holding the locket. I wonder if there's anything inside of it. Slowly she opened it up and was stunned by what she saw. Inside of it was a tiny photo of the old woman!
A short while later, the Trumps came home. Sarah told them everything that had happened. Well, almost everything. She left out the part about the old woman. When Sarah finished her account, Mrs Trump ran into the nursery to check on David. She picked him up, held him tightly, and mumured, "oh, my baby. Are you all right?"
Awakened by his mother's voice, David responded by starting to cry. Once she realized the baby was okay, Mrs. Trump calmed down and thanked Sarah for her life-saving actions.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Sarah told her. "Here's the locket. But I have no idea how it got into his mouth."
" I think I know," said Mrs. Trump. "The locket was on a chain I wore around my neck. The clasp wasn't very good. When I put David down for the night, the chain must have broken and I didn't realize it. The locket probably fell into the crib. When David woke up later, he put it in his mouth".
Sarah wanted to tell her about the old woman, but she didn't dare. She thought the Trumps would think she was crazy. As Mr. Ward was about to drive her home, Sarah curiosity got to her best.
"Mrs. Trump, when I pulled the locket out of David's throat, I couldn't help but open it up. I noticed there was a photo of an old woman. Who is she?"
"That's my mother I fondly call her mama Catherine."
"Does she live around here?"
"No, dear." Mrs Trump's eyes started to get misty. "She died of cancer just before David was born."
The color seemed to drain from Sarah's face. I was awakened by the ghost of David's grandmother! And she helped me save her grandson's life!
"It was such a shame, because she was really looking forward to being a grandmother for the first time," said Mrs. Trump. "She would have been so good to him. She was such a caring person. I miss her. I wish she were here."
"Believe me, Mrs. Trump," said Sarah, "she's here in spirit!"