Starlight Adventures

            The woman sat at the window in the house across the street. The curtains were pulled wide as she sat in her chair staring through the glass. When I left for work in the morning and when I came home in the evening, she was there.

            We, my family and I, have only been in the neighborhood for a few weeks. The kids actually haven’t arrived yet. They are staying with my parents until the end of school. The lady across the street was at the window when we moved in. As soon as the neighbors began to come by to introduce themselves to us they provided explanations. They mentioned reasons for the woman sitting there that reminded me of a good game of rumors.

            I observed her to be in the later part of her life. Her hair was white. The clothes she wore were simple, no fashion involved. The house across the street was also a simple design. The shrubs in front of the windows were well trimmed. The shrubs appeared to be maintained so there is an ability to see outside the house.

            The neighbor, George, from two doors down told me that his son, Timmy, heard the woman is actually dead. Some one goes into the house to place her in front of the window each day. No one knows if the owners of the house make the arrangement of her or if she did have some offspring. In the end the quiet stare of the woman deters burglars.

            George’s wife, Estelle, heard from another neighbor that the woman is schizophrenic. The medication she takes is what makes her even more crazy. This story also adds the children she had eons ago as the administrators of the medications.

            And yet, another neighbor, Melinda, stated clearly another side observation. Melinda said the reason there have been so many occupants in the house I just bought is because the woman across the street can read minds. The reason she sits in the window is so she can clearly have a font seat to all of the mind energy available to her.

            I really head no idea which story was believable. Actually, how could any of them be believable? The only observation I could add to this was the number of occupants in the house. It is true that a large number of families have moved in and out of this house in the past few years. The realtor said each of the families had emergencies elsewhere. The price on the house each time was too good for anyone to pass up.

            I asked George where he obtained his information about the woman. The evidence for death surely could be substantiated. George told me his son heard if from someone that heard if from someone else. That was enough for me to know it was not true.

            What about the mind reading? The woman that supplied the mind reading explanation said her information was verified. The family that lived here before had confirmed the actuality of the information. Supposedly the family before that had also experienced the same thing. My question to her then had to do with the affect of the mind reading. Did that have some reason for the families leaving so often?

            The woman’s answer was simple. She told me yes. I thanked her for coming over to say hello. Before she got through the front door she asked if she would be able to meet the rest of my family. I told her the children were staying with their grandparents until the end of school. She replied nicely. Then I knew what I needed to answer with next. U told her that there was no husband in my life. She seemed to have received the answer she was most wondering about.

            She left with a farewell to meet at some other time. I watched her walk down the side walk and turn left down the street. My attention was caught quickly by the woman in the window across the street.

            I tried to move out of the way so that I could still look out of the window but not have her see me. I wanted to get a better glimpse of her. Maybe I could see her move if I stood there long enough. If I saw her move then I would know that the woman was not dead. If she smiled happily then I would know that she was not too crazy. The mind reading would be hard to figure out from so far away. This all seemed like a waste of time for the moment. The boxes in the kitchen needed my attention.

            In the morning I left my new house with an assurance of a new start. This all seemed well and good to count on in my head. I contemplated from time to time the reason for leaving our previous house. Actually it was a previous life. Starting over is not as easy as they make it in the movies.

            The days always started with the familiar woman at the window looking at me as I drove off. At least I thought she was looking at me. I couldn’t see her eyes. The front part of her body was in the light and the facial features sort of drowned out in the background.

            In the early evening when I cam home she was still there. There were more people moving around at this time of day. I hoped she was looking at them and not me. A kid rode his bike. Another person was driving down the street. After living in my new house for over a month now I thought maybe I should make an attempt at communication with the woman. There wasn’t a name on the mailbox for an easy reference. I could ahead to say I was coming over.

            On Tuesday of that week I saw Melinda walking next to one of her children. I had just arrived home from work. We exchanged greetings before I started more questions. I wanted to know if anyone had attempted to talk to the woman. I wanted to find out information before I made any move by myself.

            Melinda knew the only people that made contact with the woman had moved. She felt like being a part of something like that so she never went over to the lady’s house. That was the only explanation she had for all of the questions I had. Of course this gave me more questions in my mind. I decided I had the information I needed to make a clear decision.

            Two days later I decided to venture more into what I really wanted to know. On that day I came home after work as usual. I pulled into the driveway under the gaze of the lady at the window. When I got out of the car the decision was made to walk across the street. The plan in doing this was to go to the lady at the window and tell her hello. When I was there I would ask her more about herself so I knew for sure. It would be nice to know the details about her firsthand rather than a few neighbors making stores up.

            All of the stories sounded so plausible, yet I had to confirm one of them. The thought occurred to me that if George’s story was true I would be going over to that house and face a dead person. I know I wouldn’t have to call the authorities, everyone already knew she was dead.

            I crossed the street keeping an eye on the woman through the window. I thought she might get up and meet me at the door. But she didn’t. I approached the house by the sidewalk in front of the house that leads to the door. I crossed the window in front of the house where the woman sat. I stood there in mid-step looking through the glass. I was amazed at the real life movement versus the still life painting I saw everyday through the window. There was a pause before she looked up at me. I found her eyes after she turned. She then turned her head toward the door. She gave the direction a slight nod, then looked back at me.

            For a moment my breath stopped, my heart stopped. All life around me ceased. I understood what she meant. I walked to the door, which was unlocked when I turned the knob. My body knew to walk in. I turned to where the woman sat. As I approached the woman the voice that is always easy in my throat searched for a way to come out.

            Her profile was thin. Her hands lay on her lap. She did not turn her head so I continued to walk toward her. I wanted to continue with the plan. Then my voice finally came to me. I started to say hello my name is. Just then she looked into my eyes and opened her mouth to speak.

            “I know why you moved here,” The voice erupted from her as a cacophony of thought and sound.

            “It wasn’t an accident. I know why you’re here. Yes, you’re husband meant well. That gave you no reason to hurt him. Don’t think that you couldn’t find some other way out.”

            Then I knew that she could read minds. I could answer why there were so many owners of my new home. The next day there was a for sale sign in my front yard.

     The stuffed animals on her bed actually have magical powers. That is what the little girl believed. The young girl explained to her father which toy could perform which feat. As part of the nightly ritual of putting her to bed the father gathered all the animals for his daughter. The story was finished for the night and the book put away.

     The dog ran around her bed at night. She declared. The pony, sparkly and glittery, could fly. Her father asked how the pony could fly. His daughter responded that the pony could fly because it had magical powers.

    As she explained this to her father he listened with interest. The stories his daughter told interested him. He didn’t really believe that all the stuffed animals could do exactly as she said, but he listened intently. The young girl knew that the toys did exactly as she said they did. The elephant did march around her room at night. The ballerina did dance uncontrollably. The princess pranced around as if she owned the place. This was all real for the little girl. But, when she talked to her father he was never convinced. Did anyone believe her? Did they need to believe her for them to be real?

     Her father told her good night before leaving. A small kiss he placed upon her cheek. Then he turned out the light to her room and walked away. As he walked down the hall he looked back lovingly into her room.  He did not see the elephant go to the door for a look out. Nor did he see the ballerina complete an arabesque. He thought he heard something and stopped walking.  Nah, that’s ridiculous he thought turning back down the hall. Then the little girl laughed and smiled as she was completely entertained by the small circus ballet dog show in her room.