Kathryn Magendie (28 page)

Author’s Note:

I wanted to mention this to you, Dear Readers, and it is the truth, as real to me as I am real sitting here typing this author’s note. One beautiful Smoky Mountain morning I was walking in the woods, and this blonde-haired girl appeared to me, an apparition, standing with feet rooted in the grass on this rich Western North Carolina soil, her feet bare, her thin dress blowing in the breeze, her eyes steady on me, and she said to me, “You got to write up my story.” And I answered, “I am writing something . . . ” and she said, “No, you got it all wrong, this here’s how it is . . . ” and when I returned from my walk, Sweetie began to emerge fully and wholly as if she’d revealed something to me in a way I do not understand. I have not encountered her spirit in this mountain cove at Killian Knob again—she rests because her story is now told.

About the Author:

Kat lives in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, in a little cove at Killian Knob with two dogs, a ghost dog, a GMR, a mysterious shadowman, and many wild critters. She is co-editor/publisher of the Rose & Thorn. Visit her at kathyrnmagendie.com.

Photograph by Christy L. Bishop