Afraid of ghosts?

On the edge of town, by the old cemetery, stood a giant pecan tree. Local legend? Not quite. It was just a great place for kids to hide out, especially two boys who one day decided to divvy up a bucket of pecans right under its branches.

- FRANCIS J. KONG

“One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me,” one boy said to the other as they sorted the nuts behind the fence.

Some of the pecans slipped, rolled down the hill, and stopped near the cemetery gate.

Enter a third boy, riding by on his bike. He hears the voices and – being a curious little guy – slows down.

“One for you, one for me...”

Eyes wide, he panics. “Oh no,” he whispers. “It’s Satan and the Lord dividing souls!”

Naturally, he pedals off in a blur of fear and panic until he spots an old man hobbling along with a cane.

“You've got to hear this!” the boy pants. “Satan and the Lord – right there at the cemetery — splitting souls!”

The old man isn’t buying it, but the boy is persistent, and eventually they both tiptoe to the fence, gripping the iron bars. And sure enough, they hear:

“One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me...”

They lean in, spooked and silent, eyes straining to see the other side of death itself.

Then comes the kicker:

“And one last one for you. That's all. Now let's go get those nuts by the fence, and we'll be done.”

Legend says the old man made it back to town five minutes before the boy.

Now I ask you: Are you afraid of ghosts?

I’m not. Never have been. But I am afraid of people who act like them — appearing out of nowhere, disappearing when the bill arrives, and haunting your bank account for years.