The next day at daycare Lydia sat at the table eating a chocolate chip cookie and telling her new friends about the young man whom her mother had seemed smitten with the night before.
"I don't know, but maybe he can be my daddy," Lydia said, a mouth full of chewed up cookie.
"Is he nice?" Casey Lernburg, the little girl with the dirty dishwater hair seated beside her asked.
"Yeah. He bought me ice cream and stuff. I think mommy should marry him."
After snacktime the caretaker Linda Reese watched as the beautiful Circoian child seated herself in front of the costume trunk and began pulling articles out, the little blond knelt beside her.
There was something utterly fascinating about the child, she thought to herself as she stared absently. The child radiated an amazing aura that captivated her every time she laid eyes on her. She watched as the girl pullout a pink tutu triumphantly.
"Found it!" she exclaimed delightedly, wrapping it around her waist and closing the velcro tab.
"I want to try it on!" Casey yelled, reaching for the velcro tab.
"After me," she rpelied calmly.
"I want to try it!" the little blond cried, ripping the skirt off of her companian.
"NO!" Lydia shrieked. And before Linda could intervene, the innocent, beautiful little girl threw herself on top of her companion, her tiny little hands wrapped tightly around the girl's throat. As the poor blond gasped for air, Lydia began slamming the poor girl's head up and down on the carpeted floor, harder and swifter was each blow she delivered.
"LYDIA, STOP IT NOW!" Linda shrieked, diving towards the pair in horror. All of the children dropped their toys and stared, open-mouthed as the quiet little girl repeatedly slammed the girl's skull onto the playroom floor.
"LET GO OF HER!" Linda cried, grabbing the girl by the shoulders and wrenching her off of the gagging blond who was desperately gasping for air.
Lydia fell to the floor on top of the caretaker.
"Lydia, what is WRONG with you?!" Linda demanded, pulling her up by the arm. "What the hell were you trying to do to her?!"
She quickly rushed to Casey's side, who was now sitting up, coughing violently. "Casey, honey, are you alright? Can you talk to me, sweetheart? Oh my God, look at your head...."
Lydia rushed to the girl's side, her eyes wide. "Casey, are you okay?"
"GET AWAY FROM HER YOU LITTLE MONSTER!" Linda screamed, pushing the child to the floor.
"What on Earth is going on out here?!" Brenda the manager demanded as she rushed into the room. Her eyes quickly fell on the gasping, crying blond and the small splash of blood on the carpeting. "My God, what happened to her?"
"Her head is bleeding, we need to get her to a hospital."
Brenda knelt down beside the child, closly examining her head. "It looks like it's cut, but better safe than sorry. What the heck happened out here?" she demanded.
"Ask her!" Linda demanded, pointing to the dark haired child who was seated on the floor, staring wide-eyed in horror at the injured girl.
"I didn't mean to hurt her," she sputtered, her eyes filling with tears. "I didn't-I didn't mean to..."
"Lydia, go into my office now for a time out. I'll be in as soon as I take care of this."
Bursting into tears, the girl started towards the office, sobbing.
"Delores!" Brenda called to the cook. "Will you take her to the ER for me? See that she gets that head checked out. It doesn't looks serious, but there's blood."
"Blood?!" Casey cried, her eyes widening.
"It's alright, sweetie, come with me," the elderly cook reassured her as she scopped the child up, one hand over the child's cut head. "You're alright, babe."
"She tried to kill me!" the little girl cried, staring in horror at the office doorway where the sobbing child stood watching her friend being taken away. "She tried to kill me!!"
**********************************************************************
When Brenda entered the office after phoning the child's mother, the girl was seated in the guest chair, tears running down her cheeks, swinging her feet slowly back and forth.
"Lydia? What do you have to say for yourself?"
"I-I didn't mean to hurt her, Mrs. Fishback. She's my friend. Am I gonna go to jail? Please don't take me to jail, Mrs. Fishback, you can't! You just can't!"
"No one's going to take you to jail, Lydia, but this is a very serious matter, don't you think? You could have killed Casey, do you know that?"
The girl sat in silence, tears streaking down her face and onto her shirt.
"Mr. Saw, you're so naughty," she said, staring down at her feet. "You're so naughty sometimes, Mr. Saw."
Brenda leaned forward in her chair, studying the child's face closely. "Lydia, what are you talking about? Who is Mr. Saw?"
"Mr. Saw's my friend," she said, a faint hint of pride in the little girl's voice. "He talks to me."
"You have an invisible friend?"
"I dunno. Sometimes he's nice and talks to me and stuff. But sometimes he scares me," she said srunching up her face in deep thought.
"And what sort of things does he say to you, Lydia?"
"Nice things, usually. Sometimes he gives me nightmares, though. Then Mommy has to change the sheets. Then I feel like a little baby."
"Tell me what he shows you," Brenda commanded, leaning over the desk.
"All kinds of stuff. Lots of times he show me...he show me pretty stuff. Like mountains and stuff. And fields with, like, all these....all these flowers and stuff. Really pretty stuff. And I wish I was there. And sometimes he shows really really bad stuff. REALLY bad stuff."
"Lydia, why did you attack Casey? From what I've seen, you're a very sweet little girl. Why would you go after your friend like that? That's not the Lydia I know."
"Mr. Saw," she replied simply.
The door opened and the child's mother walked in, pale. "Is Casey going to be alright?" she asked Brenda.
"She should be fine," she replied, rising from her chair. "It looks like a minor cut to me, but I'm no nurse."
"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Fishback, I've never known her to behave like that before. I can't apologize enough."
"Lydia, why don't you leave for a second so I can talk to your mommy for a minute?"
"I don't want to go back out there," the little girl protested, shaking her head. "Mr. Saw might be bad again."
"You'll be fine, just go wait outside the door for me, Lydia."
After the child left, closing the door quietly behind her, Bella turned to the tall, stern woman who stood behind the desk.
"Do you know who this "Mr. Saw" that she refers to is?"
"She....she speaks of him sometimes," Bella replied thoughtfully. "She gets these visions occasionally. She says Mr. Saw shows her fields and golden castles and stuff. She has quite an imagination."
"She tells me she's had nightmares...?"
"Y-yes, she's given me quite a fright before. Once very couple months she'll wake you up, screaming hysterically. And I just can't believe the things she tells me she sees in those nightmares of hers. Stuff that I....stuff that scares me a little. Stuff that I can't even comprehend a little girl like her coming up with."
"What kind of stuff, Mrs. Vienzweit?"
"Stuff I don't even want to repeat," she replied quickly. "Stuff that I can't even bring myself to repeat. Her doctor...he says it's a phase. He says Mr. Saw has been a close companion of hers for years, and now that she's grown, she's trying to...trying to flush him out, so to speak. And he thinks that these nightmares are her subconscious method of flushing him from her childhood."
"Interesting," Brenda said, tapping her teeth with the eraser of her pencil.
"What does an invisible friend have to do with all of this?"
"I really don't know. But it sounds as if she's trying to blame this imaginary friend for her behavior today. It's perfectly normal among kids her age to seek a way around punishment. She needs to understand that we aren't going to accept any excuses for her behavior."
"I agree. I just can't believe this happened, she's usually so well behaved..."
"Sometimes kids can be unpredictable at that age. I'm willing to classify it as a temper tantrum that got out of control. As fond as I am of her, if anything such as this occurs again, I won't hesitate to have her membership removed permanently. The kids are going to be terrified of her come tommorow as it is, and we don't need that kind of atmosphere around here."
"I can imagine. You have my assurance she'll be punished when I get her home."
"If the nightmares persist....if this behavior persists....I think the best thing to do would be to get her to a child phsycologist.
"I don't know, but maybe he can be my daddy," Lydia said, a mouth full of chewed up cookie.
"Is he nice?" Casey Lernburg, the little girl with the dirty dishwater hair seated beside her asked.
"Yeah. He bought me ice cream and stuff. I think mommy should marry him."
After snacktime the caretaker Linda Reese watched as the beautiful Circoian child seated herself in front of the costume trunk and began pulling articles out, the little blond knelt beside her.
There was something utterly fascinating about the child, she thought to herself as she stared absently. The child radiated an amazing aura that captivated her every time she laid eyes on her. She watched as the girl pullout a pink tutu triumphantly.
"Found it!" she exclaimed delightedly, wrapping it around her waist and closing the velcro tab.
"I want to try it on!" Casey yelled, reaching for the velcro tab.
"After me," she rpelied calmly.
"I want to try it!" the little blond cried, ripping the skirt off of her companian.
"NO!" Lydia shrieked. And before Linda could intervene, the innocent, beautiful little girl threw herself on top of her companion, her tiny little hands wrapped tightly around the girl's throat. As the poor blond gasped for air, Lydia began slamming the poor girl's head up and down on the carpeted floor, harder and swifter was each blow she delivered.
"LYDIA, STOP IT NOW!" Linda shrieked, diving towards the pair in horror. All of the children dropped their toys and stared, open-mouthed as the quiet little girl repeatedly slammed the girl's skull onto the playroom floor.
"LET GO OF HER!" Linda cried, grabbing the girl by the shoulders and wrenching her off of the gagging blond who was desperately gasping for air.
Lydia fell to the floor on top of the caretaker.
"Lydia, what is WRONG with you?!" Linda demanded, pulling her up by the arm. "What the hell were you trying to do to her?!"
She quickly rushed to Casey's side, who was now sitting up, coughing violently. "Casey, honey, are you alright? Can you talk to me, sweetheart? Oh my God, look at your head...."
Lydia rushed to the girl's side, her eyes wide. "Casey, are you okay?"
"GET AWAY FROM HER YOU LITTLE MONSTER!" Linda screamed, pushing the child to the floor.
"What on Earth is going on out here?!" Brenda the manager demanded as she rushed into the room. Her eyes quickly fell on the gasping, crying blond and the small splash of blood on the carpeting. "My God, what happened to her?"
"Her head is bleeding, we need to get her to a hospital."
Brenda knelt down beside the child, closly examining her head. "It looks like it's cut, but better safe than sorry. What the heck happened out here?" she demanded.
"Ask her!" Linda demanded, pointing to the dark haired child who was seated on the floor, staring wide-eyed in horror at the injured girl.
"I didn't mean to hurt her," she sputtered, her eyes filling with tears. "I didn't-I didn't mean to..."
"Lydia, go into my office now for a time out. I'll be in as soon as I take care of this."
Bursting into tears, the girl started towards the office, sobbing.
"Delores!" Brenda called to the cook. "Will you take her to the ER for me? See that she gets that head checked out. It doesn't looks serious, but there's blood."
"Blood?!" Casey cried, her eyes widening.
"It's alright, sweetie, come with me," the elderly cook reassured her as she scopped the child up, one hand over the child's cut head. "You're alright, babe."
"She tried to kill me!" the little girl cried, staring in horror at the office doorway where the sobbing child stood watching her friend being taken away. "She tried to kill me!!"
**********************************************************************
When Brenda entered the office after phoning the child's mother, the girl was seated in the guest chair, tears running down her cheeks, swinging her feet slowly back and forth.
"Lydia? What do you have to say for yourself?"
"I-I didn't mean to hurt her, Mrs. Fishback. She's my friend. Am I gonna go to jail? Please don't take me to jail, Mrs. Fishback, you can't! You just can't!"
"No one's going to take you to jail, Lydia, but this is a very serious matter, don't you think? You could have killed Casey, do you know that?"
The girl sat in silence, tears streaking down her face and onto her shirt.
"Mr. Saw, you're so naughty," she said, staring down at her feet. "You're so naughty sometimes, Mr. Saw."
Brenda leaned forward in her chair, studying the child's face closely. "Lydia, what are you talking about? Who is Mr. Saw?"
"Mr. Saw's my friend," she said, a faint hint of pride in the little girl's voice. "He talks to me."
"You have an invisible friend?"
"I dunno. Sometimes he's nice and talks to me and stuff. But sometimes he scares me," she said srunching up her face in deep thought.
"And what sort of things does he say to you, Lydia?"
"Nice things, usually. Sometimes he gives me nightmares, though. Then Mommy has to change the sheets. Then I feel like a little baby."
"Tell me what he shows you," Brenda commanded, leaning over the desk.
"All kinds of stuff. Lots of times he show me...he show me pretty stuff. Like mountains and stuff. And fields with, like, all these....all these flowers and stuff. Really pretty stuff. And I wish I was there. And sometimes he shows really really bad stuff. REALLY bad stuff."
"Lydia, why did you attack Casey? From what I've seen, you're a very sweet little girl. Why would you go after your friend like that? That's not the Lydia I know."
"Mr. Saw," she replied simply.
The door opened and the child's mother walked in, pale. "Is Casey going to be alright?" she asked Brenda.
"She should be fine," she replied, rising from her chair. "It looks like a minor cut to me, but I'm no nurse."
"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Fishback, I've never known her to behave like that before. I can't apologize enough."
"Lydia, why don't you leave for a second so I can talk to your mommy for a minute?"
"I don't want to go back out there," the little girl protested, shaking her head. "Mr. Saw might be bad again."
"You'll be fine, just go wait outside the door for me, Lydia."
After the child left, closing the door quietly behind her, Bella turned to the tall, stern woman who stood behind the desk.
"Do you know who this "Mr. Saw" that she refers to is?"
"She....she speaks of him sometimes," Bella replied thoughtfully. "She gets these visions occasionally. She says Mr. Saw shows her fields and golden castles and stuff. She has quite an imagination."
"She tells me she's had nightmares...?"
"Y-yes, she's given me quite a fright before. Once very couple months she'll wake you up, screaming hysterically. And I just can't believe the things she tells me she sees in those nightmares of hers. Stuff that I....stuff that scares me a little. Stuff that I can't even comprehend a little girl like her coming up with."
"What kind of stuff, Mrs. Vienzweit?"
"Stuff I don't even want to repeat," she replied quickly. "Stuff that I can't even bring myself to repeat. Her doctor...he says it's a phase. He says Mr. Saw has been a close companion of hers for years, and now that she's grown, she's trying to...trying to flush him out, so to speak. And he thinks that these nightmares are her subconscious method of flushing him from her childhood."
"Interesting," Brenda said, tapping her teeth with the eraser of her pencil.
"What does an invisible friend have to do with all of this?"
"I really don't know. But it sounds as if she's trying to blame this imaginary friend for her behavior today. It's perfectly normal among kids her age to seek a way around punishment. She needs to understand that we aren't going to accept any excuses for her behavior."
"I agree. I just can't believe this happened, she's usually so well behaved..."
"Sometimes kids can be unpredictable at that age. I'm willing to classify it as a temper tantrum that got out of control. As fond as I am of her, if anything such as this occurs again, I won't hesitate to have her membership removed permanently. The kids are going to be terrified of her come tommorow as it is, and we don't need that kind of atmosphere around here."
"I can imagine. You have my assurance she'll be punished when I get her home."
"If the nightmares persist....if this behavior persists....I think the best thing to do would be to get her to a child phsycologist.