From The Eyes of Heaven by Beverley Cooper, published by Scirocco Drama. 24 year-old Christine Clark is a journalism student. She's come home from university to work for the local paper. She's trying to find out about the strange encounter Eloise has had.
CHRISTINE:
OK... When my family first moved here we lived in this big old heritage farmhouse towards Wingham. Way off the road. Nothing but corn for hectares and hectares. Couldn’t even see the closest barn. My parents wanted peace and quiet or something ridiculous. I was about 10, I guess, and my brother and sister were a bit younger. I never liked the house one bit. It had this really weird feeling about it. But nobody else felt it. We’d moved here from Oshawa and I found all the country sounds strange at first so I thought maybe it was all just in my head. But…whenever I was alone in the house I heard sounds. A child crying. Weeping. Softly. Real sad. Always coming from one room. An upstairs bedroom. The plaster was coming off in there so we just stored things in that room. I didn’t like to go near it but one time the door was jammed and my mum was trying to get in to get some game my brother wanted and she called my father and he couldn’t get it open and for some reason I knew I would be able to open it so I did. I just opened it. Turned the door knob. Easy as pie. My mum and Dad couldn’t believe it. I made sure I was never in the house by myself, ever. They got me a dog, a big Shepherd trying to make be feel safer but….I kept hearing this crying. It was so sad and lonely. You know?
Then one night Mum and Dad went out. I pleaded with them not to but they said they had to get away sometimes and they get me a babysitter. Jeanette her name was I think. I liked her because thought the house was creepy too. My parents left in the car and as soon as we all walked back in the house the crying started; a little girl, clear as day, calling…. “Mama….Mama….” And I’m standing at the bottom of the stairs, and that great big Shepherd dog starts whimpering and cowering…and I hear the door to the upstairs bedroom open, all by itself. Creaks open. And this girl appears, right at the top of the stairs. In an old fashioned dress. And she reaches out to me, and says …“Where’s Mama?” And the door to the bedroom starts banging and banging and banging. Like it was angry. I bolted outside and took off down the road, I was totally freaking out, with Jeanette, the dog, my brother and sister running after me. I point-bank refused to go back in there. We had to walk into town to call my Mum and Dad. I screamed so loud we had to stay at a motel. And mum and dad had to sell the house.
(Pause.)
You know why I’m telling you this don’t you? I always wondered. Why did she just appear to me? Was I special? Did I have some kind of sight?…..You saw something last night, didn’t you? Something out of the ordinary.