It was one of the worst storms in history.  Two feet of snow had already fallen with no sign that it was going to stop.  I had just cleared a path to the road when I saw her standing not more than ten feet from me, wearing only a green satin dress and slippers.  Her complexion was pale, her eyes dark and forbidding.  She looked unaffected by the cold and oblivious to what she was wearing.  I was about to say something when she spoke.

"Edward, have you seen my Edward?"  Even through the howling snow, I could hear her voice clearly.  It was very dry and cold and she spoke with an echo.

"Who?"  I asked.

"I must find Edward."  She spoke very slowly as if she found it hard to talk.

"I am afraid I can’t help you miss."

"I must find Edward," she repeated.

"You really shouldn’t be out in this type of weather dressed like that.  Why don’t you come inside and warm up a bit, then we will see about finding Edward."  She made no sign she understood me, but as I walked to the house she followed me.  Once inside, I made her sit near the fire to warm up a bit.  Alice, my wife, followed me into the living room. 

"Matthew Brooks," she said sternly.  "Do you mind telling me who this strange woman is, and what she’s doing in my house?"

"I don’t know who she is, honey, but she was dressed outside like this.  She seems to be looking for someone called Edward.  Perhaps after warming up a bit she will tell us more."  Alice gave me a weird look and then glanced at the figure sitting by the fire.  I could see Alice’s expression turn from suspicion to one of pity.  She observed her for a moment and then went into the kitchen, returning a few minutes later with some hot coffee and cake.  The woman stared at the food, as if deep in thought, then slowly began to eat.  As she ate, she stared right at me, or through me, it seemed, for I don’t think, she realized I was there.

"Where is Edward?  I must find him," she said when she was finished.

"Who is Edward?"

"He is my son."  She continued to stare ahead, not looking at anything.

"I don’t know your son, miss, but if you tell us what he looked like we will help you find him."

"Everyone knows Edward.  I must find him."

"We are trying to help you.  Tell us your name."

She looked at us glassy eyed.  "Sharon Aster," was all she replied.

"Pleased to me you Sharon.  I’m Matthew Brooks and this is my wife Alice.  Now, what does Edward look like?"

"He is my son, I must find him."  She stood up, looked at us with those cold dark eyes, opened the door and left.  I ran to the door after her, but when I got there, she was gone.  There was no sign of her anywhere, not even footprints in the snow.  It was as if she was never there.

***

Exactly one week later, we saw her again.  The snow was falling lightly, but the wind was blowing it around so much that I could hardly see more that two feet ahead.  I saw her quite suddenly, standing right in front of me, dressed in the same outfit as before.  She stared at me for a moment, as if she remembered who I was; then she spoke.  "Have you seen Edward?"

"Look misses, are you all right?"  I asked.  I was beginning to wonder if she was crazy and in need of some help.  "Why don’t you come inside with me and we’ll see that someone finds Edward for you."  Sharon’s ice-cold eyes looked into mine.  There was something strange about her, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was.  After I few minutes she spoke again. 

"Edward is my son; I must find him."

"I am trying to help you, but I need more information before I can do anything."

"I have told you everything; more I cannot say."

"I need to know what he looked like.  Do you have a picture that I could look at?"

"I don’t know what you’re talking about," Sharon answered.

"Do you know where he went then?"

"He was going to Gurdy’s saloon and never came back."

"I never heard of that place; are you sure you’re in the right town?"  I asked.

"I must find Edward."  Then she turned and walked away.  Just then a snowplow passed by.  Sharon stepped right in front of it, I was sure she would be killed, but somehow the plow missed her.  She turned and looked at me from across the road, as if to tell me something, then went behind some trees and disappeared.  I tried to look for her but found nothing, not even her footprints in the snow.

"She certainly is strange, won’t give much information about her son," I said to Alice later that evening as I told her about my encounter with Sharon.  "It might be a good idea to check around.  Maybe someone knows who she is."

I sense something very wrong with her, Matthew.  I seem to recall reading something about a Sharon Aster, but I can’t remember what it was about.  I think we should be very careful with her, very careful indeed."  I had a feeling Alice might be right.

***

The next day I went to see if I could find anyone who knew anything about Edward.  I went to all the places I knew and even ones I have never been to.  Nobody had ever heard of either Edward or Gurdy’s saloon.  As for Sharon, nobody had heard of her or anyone called Aster.

"There’s something about her name that rings a bell, Matthew.  I just can’t put my finger on it," Alice said after I told her about the day’s events.  "Another thing that strikes me funny is the way she stares, never looks directly at you."

The next evening I heard a noise outside.  When I opened the door there stood Sharon.  Before I could say anything, she walked into the living room and sat down.  It was snowing, but she left no prints, neither outside nor on the carpet.  She looked right at us.  "Have you found Edward?" she asked.

"Nobody I’ve spoken with seems to know who Edward is.  Are you sure he came this way?"

"This is the way he came.  Everyone knows Edward."

"Where do you live Sharon?  That might help us."

"On the top of that hill," she answered, pointing out our dining room window.  She stood up, walked to the door, opened it, and left.  By the time we arrived, she was gone, leaving no sign she had ever been there.

"That’s strange, Alice," I said after Sharon had gone.  "There’s no house at the top of that hill, never has been.  Nothing she says seems to make sense."

Alice said nothing for a moment.  "Tomorrow we should go up that hill.  I want to check something."

***

"The next day we trudged up the hill.  " I don’t know what you’ll find up here, Alice," I said when we arrived at the top.  "There’s nothing but rocks, and besides everything is covered with snow."

Alice brushed the snow off each rock, and carefully examined each one.

"Get the shovel and remove the snow from the bottom of the bigger rocks." She did not stop to explain what she was doing.  After about two hours, she stood up.  "I’m still not sure; let’s go to the library; I want to check something."

"Do you mind telling me what you’re up to Alice?"  I asked after returning from the hill.

"I have an idea why Sharon acts so strange but before I say anything I want to make sure I’m right."  She then looked at me very seriously, "but I hope I’m not."

Alice spent the next day at the library.  I couldn’t help wondering what she was after.  When she came back, she had a strange look on her face.

"Matthew I know what’s wrong with Sharon.  Sit down; you’re not going to believe this; I have a hard time believing it myself."  She put a large envelope on the table.  Inside were photocopies of old newspaper clippings and with them two drawings, one looked just like Sharon.

"I knew I had read something about Sharon before and while I was at the library I found it again.  Do you recognize the girl in this drawing?"

I knew at once that it was Sharon.  "Where did you get this?"  I asked, mystified.

"I found it while looking through some old newspapers.  It dates back to January 7th, 1874.  The article says they found Sharon’s body after a huge snowstorm the day before.  I knew something was odd the first time I saw her.  She must have died while looking for her son."

"What the hell are you talking about Alice?"

"I’m trying to tell you that Sharon has been dead for over 150 years, and we’re now dealing with her ghost.  Before you say anything, take a look at this."

Handing me a drawing of an old farmhouse she continued.  "There was a house on top of the hill but it was destroyed in a fire about a hundred and thirty years ago, those rocks are all that remain.  Most of the town was destroyed in the same fire, including most probably, Gurdy’s saloon." Alice’s voice then became serious.  "There’s more; you’re involved in this somehow, Matthew."

"That’s crazy.  I never heard of her or Edward."

"There must be a reason why she came to you.  Perhaps she thinks you can help her find Edward."

"That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard, Alice, besides why would she appear now, after all these years?"

"Remember the date she first appeared?  It happened to be January 6, the anniversary of her death.  I checked, and strange as it may seem there has never been a snowstorm on that date in recent memory.  That storm must have brought her back."

***

The next day I started looking through the newspaper clippings Alice brought home.  There couldn’t see any connection between Sharon and me.  I decided to take a trip to city hall and look up the town archives. 

Sharon’s obituary was easy to find, so I started my search there.  Edward was her only child, and never found.  Her husband’s name was William Aster.  I decided to find out what happened to him.  After her death, he remarried and his second wife, a widow, had a daughter from her previous marriage.  This daughter married Harold Brooks, my great grandfather.

"Well at least we know how you are involved; Matthew, but it doesn’t help us find Edward." Alice said after I told her what I found out.  "We still have no idea what happened to him."

We went up to the attic to see if we could find anything.  Our house has been in the Brook’s family for several generations, so it was possible something could be up there.  Aside from the usual junk that attics seem to collect, nothing much else could be seen.  The only thing that seemed old enough was a chest against one of the walls.  Luckily, it was unlocked.  Inside was a bunch of old clothes, a few broken dishes, and some old papers.  While poking through the clothes I found some old photos.  As I looked through them one caught my eye.  It showed an older woman standing beside a young man, who looked to be around twenty years old.  I compared the woman with the drawing Alice brought home.  They looked the same. 

Next, I examined the papers.  They were yellow and faded making them hard to read.  By using a magnifying glass, I was able to make out two names, Brooks, and Gurdy.  It appeared that I was holding a legal document.

Another trip to city hall told me that the papers were the deed of sale for our house.  It was between Thomas Gurdy and Harold Brooks for the land and a burned out building.  Was it possible that our house used to be Grudy’s Saloon?

The only part of our house that old was the kitchen and living room.  The rest had been added over the years.  Only the kitchen and fireplace were un-plastered, making them easier to check.  Nothing of interest was found in the kitchen and the fireplace yielded nothing at first glance.  Then, Alice saw an iron plate half covered with cement on the mantle.  After scraping off the cement, I saw what appeared to be letters, although to faint to read.  After cleaning them up, I read the word, Gurdy’s.  We were certain; our house was once Gurdy’s Saloon.  We now knew why Sharon appeared here.  The question remained, what happened to Edward?

No information was available on Edward; he just disappeared without a trace.  Perhaps his father knew something.  Back at city hall, we again looked up William Aster.  The only thing we found of interest was his will.  Everything was left to his wife except for a small sum of money, which he gave, in trust, to St.  Philips church. 

We found out that St.  Philips once ran a small hospital.  The hospital no longer existed, but luckily, the church kept all the records.  It was here that we found Edward.  Soon after Sharon,’s death Edward had a breakdown and never recovered.  He remained at the hospital until his death, then buried in the church cemetery.

We found Edward’s grave, took a picture, and kept it with the photo we found in the attic.  We then waited for Sharon’s next appearance.

***

Our wait was over two nights later.  It was quite windy and snowing heavily.  I went to get more logs for the fireplace when I saw her.

"Have you seen Edward?"  She asked, her eyes starring right through me.  She followed me inside and sat down on the sofa as if she were an old friend.

"Where’s Edward?" Her tone was stronger as she looked suspiciously at Alice and me.  "You have found Edward.  Where is he?"

She came towards us; her eyes were wild with excitement.  "Tell me where he is, now!"

Alice ran to the dinning room and brought both pictures.

"Sharon!  Is this Edward?" She asked showing the pictures.

Sharon looked at the photos.  "Edward," she whispered.  "Edward it’s me, your mother." Sharon looked slowly around the room.  "Edward, come to mummy."  She went all around the room, even passing through furniture, the look on her face, intense.

Suddenly a shape started to form a few feet from Sharon.  A young man, similar to the one in the picture appeared and looked right at her.  "Mama, it’s me.  Here I am."

"Edward," Sharon whispered.  Come here." The two approached, Sharon was shaking with excitement.  They looked at each other for a moment then embraced.

After a few moments, she looked at us and said in a soft voice.  "You have found my Edward; thank you." She then held Edward’s hand and they both disappeared.

We never saw Sharon again but something happened today that makes me wonder if she is really gone.  Snow had fallen and it was quite slippery on the roads.  I was driving home from the store when I lost control of my car.  I was about to slide into a ditch when the car suddenly veered back onto the road.  When I arrived home, I saw on the hood, engraved in a thin blanket of snow, the initials S. A.