CHAPTER FOUR

Eloise had hoped that her return to Blue Creek would be as uneventful as possible and for a short while, she gets her wish. She spends the first day and the first night tending to her father, John, who is more than happy to see her. She is heartbroken about his illness and blames herself for his solitude. That first day, father and daughter talk and bond and they tell each other what they have been through the past six years. John tells Eloise of the shows that the local theatre company have put on under his direction. Eloise tells him of her strides in New York while conveniently living out Stanley and his family. She makes him his favorite meal and watches him as he devours it. Eloise enjoys that time with her father thoroughly.

However, by the second day of her arrival, news of her return had spread around the town like wildfire and everyone begins to come to visit just to see for themselves that Eloise has indeed return home. At first, this does not seem like a problem but when the Wheatleys show up, led by Erin Wheatley, an old wound is opened. It is as though Eloise is back at that night, running, terrified and trying not to draw attention to herself. When Erin smiles at her and hugs her as one would an old friend that one has not seen in a while, all that Eloise can see is the questioning look that the woman shot her that night.

“It is really is nice to see you back in town, Eloise,” Erin Wheatley says as she walks out the door.

“You too Mrs. Wheatley.”

Eloise could not have them leave sooner. When they do leave, she leans on the wall and takes in deep breath to try to calm herself. Just as she thinks that she might have regained her composure, there is another knock at the door. Eloise’s first instinct is to ignore the door until whoever is there gets tired and leaves but her father has told her of how the villagers might be annoyed by her hostility. She walks to the door angrily and swings it open, ready to show whoever is on the other side the true meaning of hostility.

“Hello,” Mary Lou says. She is neither smiling nor frowning. Her face is the blank expression of one who does not know who is unsure of what the proper mood is.

“Mary Lou,” Eloise’s voice comes out as barely a whisper. Much like Eloise, Mary Lou has grown. No longer is she the young, small sixteen-year-old girl. She is now a matured woman in a long dress and tight corsets. “You’re here.”

“Yes, I am,” she says. “May I come in?”

“Of course,” Eloise says quickly as she steps aside. “My father is resting in his bedroom.”

“Oh,” Mary Lou says simply. An awkward silence befalls them as they stand just a few feet from the door. Eloise does not know whether to offer Mary Lou food or even a seat. She does not know whether mentioning anything else is appropriate without first addressing the reason for the awkwardness. Eloise knows why they both cannot speak comfortably to each other. The memory of what they had both seen six years ago hung over them like a cloud ready to rain blood at any moment. Eloise decides that she is not ready to be drenched.

“Would you like to say hello to him?” she asks to fill the silence.

“That’s alright,” Mary Lou replies. “I have seen him plenty times. After all, it was I who took care of him while you were away.”

Eloise smiles at her. “Oh, thank you. I truly had no idea. You are a wonderful person, Mary Lou.”

“I don’t think I am wonderful.”

“Yes, you are.”

Mary Lou quietens as though in acquiescence. The silence returns for a few more seconds before Mary Lou decides to speak.

“I am afraid that I am here for a reason.”

“Do tell.”

“As you know, your father has been the glue holding the local theatre group together for so long.” Eloise cannot help the smile that forms on her face as she hears this. She is proud of her father’s achievements and is happy that he will be remembered for something good. “Well, after you left town, I joined the theatre group.”

“That is wonderful, truly.”

“Yes,” Mary Lou smiles. “Now, the rest of the group has put together something for your father. A play; a swan song of sorts on his behalf. We know that he might not be returning to the theater after this and we have decided to do this for him and it is in a week.”

“Oh my!” Eloise clutches her chest. It feels like her heart is about to explode in joy. “That is beautiful, Mary Lou. Thank you so much. And I am sure the show will be wonderful.

“Oh, it will be.” For the first time since seeing her, Eloise notices an expression on Mary Lou’s face but it is not what she has been expecting. It is the expression of one who has a mission and it flashes across her face in seconds that Eloise might as well have imagined it.

“What do you mean?” Eloise asks with furrowed eyebrows.

“Well, I will be directing it so I’ll make sure that it is a wonderful show.”

Eloise makes a promise to attend the play and Mary Lou leaves a few minutes after that. For several hours after she leaves, Eloise still feels like the tension and awkwardness caused by all of the unspoken memories is still in the air.

That night and every night after that, Eloise is jerked awake from her sleep by a nightmare. It is the same nightmare every night; the same one that she had back in New York. Eloise wants to dismiss it as nothing but she cannot until one morning she gets up from her bed after a tumultuous, sleepless night and gets dressed.

“Where are you off to?” her father asks as she walks out of the house.

“I am going on a walk, father.” Eloise does not wait for her father to try to stop her before she leaves the house and begins her walk on an old but familiar path. She knows where she is going and she will not stop until she gets there.

The woods look just as Eloise remembers it, only slightly thicker. Eloise holds her dress up as she walks, trying to prevent the hems from getting caught in thorns and tearing like they did the last time she was here. Her exposed ankles touch the leaves and the grass, and the morning dew wets her skin. The path has not changed much so Eloise knows exactly where she is going. When Eloise sees the oak tree standing in the distance, she wants to turn around and return to her house but she keeps walking. It is the same oak tree where she and Mary Lou hid on that night while the terror happened just a few feet from them.

Despite her fear, Eloise’s feet carry her to the oak tree and when she reaches it, she falls at its feet and places her hands on the ground. The tears flow freely from her eyes down her cheeks to her chin and the intensity of their flow pushes them until they form droplets on the already wet leaves on the ground.

“I’m sorry,” Eloise chokes out between sobs. “I am so sorry.”

To a stranger passing by, Eloise is a strange woman apologizing to a tree but Eloise knows that the tree is not her concern but the one whose blood flows just a few feet from it.