Chapter XI:

I kept having dreams. She’s always there. No life in her eyes. She had no emotion on her face. I don’t know what she wants from me. I saw her again tonight. She always says the same thing.

“Ladybird, ladybird. Fly away home. You house is on fire and your children all gone. All except one. And that’s little Ann. And she has crept under the warming pan.”

What did it all mean? Who was she? And what did she want with me?

I awoke in a cold sweat in the bed above the pub. The darkness around me felt strangely calming. I stared up at the ceiling. Oh that’s right. I’m still alone. The barmaid snuck me upstairs to that room.

“You are going to have to leave in the morning,” she told me. “No one is supposed to be up here, okay?”

“Okay,” I said.

“Good night,” she whispered. I just bowed my head. It didn’t take me long to fall onto the bed and go to sleep.

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There she was. She looked just as beautiful and haunting as I saw her at the Christmas party. Only, she stood in the darkness. I couldn’t turn away from that devilish woman. I tried to back away but to no avail.

“Who are you?” I wanted to ask. “What do you want from me?” I opened my mouth but no sound came out. She had no emotion on her face. That girl reached out to my cheek and gently touched it. Every inch of my being froze. Suddenly, she spoke into my mind. Not clearly at first. My head felt like it was swimming. What was she doing to me? I thought I was going to pass out.

Then those damned words of hers floated through my head. I heard them clearer than anything else in my life.

“Ladybird, ladybird. Fly away home. You house is on fire and your children all gone. All except one. And that’s little Ann. And she has crept under the warming pan.”

I slowly shook my head.

No… No… No!

What do you want from me? Who are you? She dropped her hand to her side.

And then everything went black.

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I couldn’t go back to sleep that night. I just laid there in my bed trying my hardest to make sense of everything. The pub was closed for the night. I don’t think anyone even noticed me sneaking upstairs to the tiny apartment. I still don’t know what I am going to do. The barmaid made it clear that I can’t stay here. I know that I can’t. But where will that leave me?

I turned over in the bed. Maybe I could try to go out to sea. I overheard one of the men talking about going to America. I could get work on a ship. What choice do I have? I have nothing else after all. I just hoped that she wouldn’t follow me. But somehow I knew that wasn’t going to be possible.

By morning, the barmaid helped me slide out of the backway down the stairs. We had to keep quiet. She gave me a spare set of clothes. I was surprised to find how well they fit me. Once I got dressed, she slipped me a little money and some food before we went down the steps.

“Thank you,” I whispered to her.

“Yeah, yeah,” she said. We made it down to the alley and she went back inside. I waved her goodbye before heading down the road. Once again, I was alone.