Read Online Dry Spell: A Mercy Watts Short by A.W. Hartoin - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: A.W. Hartoin
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turned, put her elbows on the counter and her face in her hands. “I think I’m going crazy. I’m scared all the time.”
“Since when does Janine have an imaginary friend?”
Her head jerked up. “Exactly. It just happened out of the blue six weeks ago.”
“What do you want Dad to do?”
“Check out the house. See if anything ever happened there.”
“You think she’s seeing a ghost?” I asked.
“I don’t know what it is.”
I leaned on the counter next to her and rubbed her back. She started telling me about the man her four-year-old daughter had been seeing.
Six weeks ago, Janine had been playing in the living room. Ellen heard her saying, “Don’t stand there.” Thinking Janine’s younger sister was pestering her, she walked into the room to settle the latest dispute. Janine was alone. Ellen left and later heard Janine talking again. She was answering questions, while playing with her dolls. Ellen asked her who she was talking to and she said the brown man. She said that the brown man was standing by the windows watching them. Janine was unconcerned and Ellen thought she had developed a fabulous imagination, but the brown man was back the next day and the next. Sometimes Janine would simply inform her mother that he was there. Other times she would answer questions or order him about the room.
After a few weeks, Ellen began to get worried. Her husband, Jeremy, said it was a phase and ignored it. But Ellen wasn’t so sure. She’d heard of imaginary playmates before, but she thought that they were usually children or animals, not a man. Plus, Janine didn’t play with her so-called playmate. She didn’t blame him for her bad deeds. She treated him like another adult in the room. When pressed about the brown man’s appearance, Janine seemed confused as to the question. She knew that her parents and sister didn’t see him, but she didn’t understand why they didn’t understand that he was brown, all brown. When Jeremy asked what kind of clothes he had on, she said, ‘He’s brown, Daddy.’ It was the same with hair and eyes. Brown.
The brown man sightings increased until he was constantly with her, but he never went to the grocery store or the park. When her parents asked why, Janine shrugged her shoulders and continued to play. She wasn’t as interested in the brown man as her parents. Ellen read everything she could find about imaginary playmates and none of it matched her daughter’s experience. After a month, even Jeremy became unnerved by his daughter’s casual mentioning of the man in the room with them and agreed to a visit to a psychologist. The woman was no help. She thought Janine wanted more attention from her father and made up a man to fill a void. ‘It’s a phase,’ she said, ‘pay no attention and it will go away.’
And that is just what Jeremy and Ellen did, but the brown man didn’t go away. He became interactive. He found Jeremy’s lost wristwatch that had been gone for two weeks. He turned off appliances when they’d been left on too long. It could have been chalked up to failing parental memories, but Janine would say, ‘The brown man told me where it was, Daddy’ or ‘The brown man said you forgot to turn off the TV when we went to church.’ Ellen was frightened, but tried to behave like an adult, not a teenager in a horror film. She was able to keep it together until the brown man hit the five-week mark. Janine started mentioning a girl that her parents should help. She was quite put out that they weren’t doing anything, when clearly something should be done. Over that last week before Ellen’s visit, more details began coming out. The girl was underground. She wanted to go home and that she had a pink bike. The most important thing to Janine was that she was underground and she didn’t like it. Janine said the brown man showed her these things and would go back to playing with her dolls while her parents tried to control the cold shivers
“Since when does Janine have an imaginary friend?”
Her head jerked up. “Exactly. It just happened out of the blue six weeks ago.”
“What do you want Dad to do?”
“Check out the house. See if anything ever happened there.”
“You think she’s seeing a ghost?” I asked.
“I don’t know what it is.”
I leaned on the counter next to her and rubbed her back. She started telling me about the man her four-year-old daughter had been seeing.
Six weeks ago, Janine had been playing in the living room. Ellen heard her saying, “Don’t stand there.” Thinking Janine’s younger sister was pestering her, she walked into the room to settle the latest dispute. Janine was alone. Ellen left and later heard Janine talking again. She was answering questions, while playing with her dolls. Ellen asked her who she was talking to and she said the brown man. She said that the brown man was standing by the windows watching them. Janine was unconcerned and Ellen thought she had developed a fabulous imagination, but the brown man was back the next day and the next. Sometimes Janine would simply inform her mother that he was there. Other times she would answer questions or order him about the room.
After a few weeks, Ellen began to get worried. Her husband, Jeremy, said it was a phase and ignored it. But Ellen wasn’t so sure. She’d heard of imaginary playmates before, but she thought that they were usually children or animals, not a man. Plus, Janine didn’t play with her so-called playmate. She didn’t blame him for her bad deeds. She treated him like another adult in the room. When pressed about the brown man’s appearance, Janine seemed confused as to the question. She knew that her parents and sister didn’t see him, but she didn’t understand why they didn’t understand that he was brown, all brown. When Jeremy asked what kind of clothes he had on, she said, ‘He’s brown, Daddy.’ It was the same with hair and eyes. Brown.
The brown man sightings increased until he was constantly with her, but he never went to the grocery store or the park. When her parents asked why, Janine shrugged her shoulders and continued to play. She wasn’t as interested in the brown man as her parents. Ellen read everything she could find about imaginary playmates and none of it matched her daughter’s experience. After a month, even Jeremy became unnerved by his daughter’s casual mentioning of the man in the room with them and agreed to a visit to a psychologist. The woman was no help. She thought Janine wanted more attention from her father and made up a man to fill a void. ‘It’s a phase,’ she said, ‘pay no attention and it will go away.’
And that is just what Jeremy and Ellen did, but the brown man didn’t go away. He became interactive. He found Jeremy’s lost wristwatch that had been gone for two weeks. He turned off appliances when they’d been left on too long. It could have been chalked up to failing parental memories, but Janine would say, ‘The brown man told me where it was, Daddy’ or ‘The brown man said you forgot to turn off the TV when we went to church.’ Ellen was frightened, but tried to behave like an adult, not a teenager in a horror film. She was able to keep it together until the brown man hit the five-week mark. Janine started mentioning a girl that her parents should help. She was quite put out that they weren’t doing anything, when clearly something should be done. Over that last week before Ellen’s visit, more details began coming out. The girl was underground. She wanted to go home and that she had a pink bike. The most important thing to Janine was that she was underground and she didn’t like it. Janine said the brown man showed her these things and would go back to playing with her dolls while her parents tried to control the cold shivers
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