The Nursery

"Stan, it’s Alex Holdsworth here, I’ve a lot of work for you". So began teacher Alex’s phone conversation with Stan, his painter and decorator of many years.
"Hello Alex, good to hear from you. What’s happening then?"
"Well I've bought a new house at 45 Gomersal Road on the edge of Barley Fields, in Gomersal, and I'd like you to decorate it all for me before we move in, which we aim to be just before Christmas. I've got a key, so when can we meet, and can you meet the deadline?""That’s a bit tight but I’ll do it as you've been a customer of mine for so long" replied Stan. "I’ll just look in my diary and see when we can meet. Now then, will Thursday be OK at 7 o'clock.? I'll probably be a good hour measuring up."
"Suits me fine Stan. Will you bring some colour charts, and wallpaper books with you for my wife and I to borrow for a few days?"asked Alex.
"Yes of course, 'til Thursday at seven then, bye."
"Bye."

They met as arranged and started by transferring the wallpaper books and colour charts into Alex’s car. As they went in Alex pointed out that the kitchen and bathroom were not to be done now as new fittings were going in.

Over the next hour Alex helped Stan to measure the rooms. First downstairs, and then up. When they got to the little bedroom, which was to be the nursery for the baby Alex and his wife Jennie were expecting in March, Stan shuddered as he entered. "Feels even colder in here,"he said to himself. "Must be my imagination."

The measuring finished, Alex told Stan how to work the alarm, gave him the code, and then the house key. He promised to get the wallpaper books back to him by next Monday along with details of papers and colour schemes for each room.

Mid-November arrived and Stan started work for Alex. He finished the dining room the first week, and moved into the living room taking a week on that too. Next it was the hall, landing and stairs. This took eight working days and it was now the second week in December.

Alex and Jennie had settled on 22nd December to move in. Alex was taking the previous Friday off school, as he was entitled to with moving, so they had Friday, Saturday and Sunday to get organised, and then move on the Monday.

Stan knew that Alex and Jennie really wanted him out of the way when they moved in so he decided to work a few evenings to get finished by Friday 19th December.

He started his evening work on Monday the 15th. He was working in the second double bedroom in pleasant conditions as Alex had the central heating on, as planned, to air the house. Monday evening went without a problem and he finished at 8.45, having done about two and a half hours overtime. He'd done this before and didn't mind the long days because being a one man band he knew that pleasing his customers meant that they'd put more business his way.

Tuesday was a different matter. He'd finished the double bedroom at 5.15 and so gone for tea. Now at 6.20 he put the light on in the nursery, and once again noticed how cold it felt.

"Funny,"he thought, "perhaps this radiator is off?"He went over to it and touched it. It was quite warm, so that wasn’t the reason. He shrugged his shoulders and went to bring his things into the nursery. He noticed the warmth on the landing and as he brought his steps through he noticed the cold again.
"This is weird," he said out loud.
He started stripping the old paper off the ceiling and was in the middle of doing this when Alex arrived.
"Hi Stan," said Alex. "OK then?"
"Yes thanks,"replied Stan, "but have you felt that it’s colder in here than in the rest of the house?"
"Noooooo…"replied Alex very thoughtfully, "I can’t say I have."
"Well I’ve kept getting that feeling all evening, perhaps I’m ailing for something?" suggested Stan.
"It’s your imagination Stan, working in an empty house, alone at night," laughed Alex.
"Ummm..you’re probably right." said Stan.
"See you later, I'm going to bring in some things for the kitchen and then I’m off."
Alex left 20 minutes later and Stan was once more alone in the house.

By 7.30 Stan was really feeling very cold. He couldn’t understand it as stripping the ceiling was quite hard work, and would normally have brought him out in a sweat. It was at this point that he sensed something behind him. He turned and blinked but...was that something...no… funny he thought, for a fraction of a second he thought he'd seen something going through the nursery wall into the master bedroom. He shuddered and carried on, eventually finishing at 8.20, ready to paper the ceiling tomorrow.

On Wednesday morning Stan arrived as usual at 8.30, as it was getting light. He took the nursery wallpaper upstairs, popped it in the nursery itself, and noticed it felt warm. "So it was my imagination," he thought as he went for his tins of paint. He worked steadily all day and then returned at 6.20 to paint the nursery ceiling using his roller on a long pole.

"Brrrrr….. It feels cold again," thought Stan as he entered the nursery. "This is crazy," and once again he felt the radiator, and once again it was nice and warm.

The first coat on the ceiling was soon done and he set about the walls. He started on the one nearest the spare bedroom. He was just putting up the second length of paper when he felt a chill run down his spine, and the sensation of a pair of eyes staring at his back. He froze. His arms still holding up the paper. He turned slowly to his left. There in the middle of the room was a little girl, about six years old, with long dark hair.

"Hello," he croaked with a dry throat, and with that she turned slowly and glided off through the wall into the master bedroom.

Stan dropped the paper, sat down on the floor, and found himself breathing heavily and sweating a real cold sweat. His heart was thumping and his hands were shaking. Gradually he calmed down but continued to stare at the wall. It was real. He knew what he'd seen, but should he tell Alex? He decided he'd had enough and went home.

Next day, Thursday, he arrived at 8.00 and worked straight through without a break until 5.00. There was no visitation. She did not appear in daylight.

On Friday Stan started early again and worked flat out. He was scared. Alex arrived at 4.15 to find him packing up. He’d finished.
"Thanks Stan, see you in the summer for the kitchen, bathroom and outside," said Alex.

In July, Stan returned for three weeks and did the remaining jobs. Everyday, proud mother Jennie brought her little daughter Emma for Stan to admire.

Six years later Stan returned to redecorate the nursery. Emma was at school and his presence was a secret for her birthday, as too was her temporary relocation to the spare bedroom.

At 3.45 Emma came home with Jennie, who let her run upstairs to her room on her own. She stood in the doorway and said, "Hello, mister."

Stan turned around with a smile on his face, saying, "Hello, Emma," and then he saw her properly and gasped. "Oh no," he thought "oh no!"

By Trevor Wood