L'Homme de la Nuit

Julien

The wind was blowing strongly as every October. The windows of hospital were dirty because of soil which was hit on them by the wind. Today nobody was outside because of the weather. Julien wanted to go outside and see these yellow, red and brown leaves dancing in swirls. To feel the rain on his face and chill to his bones. But he ward's door was closed. As yesterday... a month... and a year now. It was no way out of this room with dirty white walls and ceiling.

Mister Julien would look like an ordinary little boy if you would approach him sitting on a bench in the park: black short hair curling at the tips, huge brown eyes and an ordinary grey clothes. You might even take him for a ghost from Japanese horror movies because of his pale as a porcelain skin. Holding his red wooden car in his hand he would look more and more unearthly. But if you would look in his eyes, you would see something that will make you want to run away from this boy.

As now Julien was sitting on his ward's windowsill, a nurse brought him food and left. Same food as every day: some colorless mashed potatoes, a meatball and tasteless salad with a cup of tea. Julien did not even look at the food. His eyes were fixed on the tall woman with long black hair at the gates. She was standing in the rain and looked at him. Not a single muscle moved in a last hour. Does anybody see her? Clearly nobody did, because no workers came to let her in. The little boy waved at her and she waved back. The mother. She was standing there at the gates every day, but never came in during all this year.

It was a cold winter night when Julien was six years old. That night he couldn't sleep because of a woman watching him from a closet. Until he heard scream down stairs and saw the blood on a white carpet. Then all he remembered was this hospital and a dark-haired woman at the gates. Nothing appeared from life before that night. Doctors and nurses tried to get this information about of his head, but nothing worked. This white ward was all his world and colorful crayons. But all he wanted was to go outside and talk to that lady. And no matter how he asked staff to let him out- it never happened. He heard voices and screams of people around him, so he knew he wasn't alone here after all. But he never saw anybody except a nurse Mrs. Louisette and some doctors that came in to talk to him. Alas, he barely said anything to these people no matter he knew them very well.

Julien left the windowsill and went to his drawing table. He will make a drawing again of this black-haired woman he was so fond of, but he did not know why.

The nurse came back to his ward. The food was still untouched. She encouraged Julien to eat his food, but he shook his head and a nurse took the plate out. Entire staff knew sometimes he refuses food so they did not care much about this. He will eat later. So, Julien returned back to drawing. He made a drawing how she waves at him, rain pouring down her face that looked like tears. He knew a doctor will ask again who she is, but he won 't tell, 'cause he doesn't know that.

A night came. It was one of the most terrible times of the day. Moans and screams of other patients got louder, wind was blowing stronger outside and Julien felt lonelier than ever before. As every night he saw shadows and silhouettes on the walls, but he wasn 't screaming. He is used to them. Sometimes they dance on the ceiling, sometimes they talk to him, but never touch him or do any harm. Nothing worries him except for that lady outside. He got out of bed and went to the window- she is still there. Her face even more white in the night than daytime. She is always there.

Suddenly he felt a chill pass his body... he turned back and saw her in his room. Right behind him. Julien 's eyes got wide as she opened her mouth and said:

- You will pay for this, brat!