Chapter Seven

Madame Colette Sees a Ghost

Madame Colette lived all alone in a rather large house. Her husband had passed on several years earlier and her only child had been killed by scarlet fever when she was only eight years old. She had a fine manner as she was of a prominent family and she had a kind heart. Her house was neat and grand and full of interesting trinkets that she had collected over the years while traveling about the world with her husband. She loved children and the children of the town were always invited to play in her yard and her house. She gave them all sweets and cakes and let them touch her souvenirs as she told them the story that went with each one. It was a well-known fact among the children of the town that Madame Colette was the finest old lady in the whole of France and quite possibly the entire world. In fact, the only time she ever showed the slightest sign of aggression was when the shook her elegant fist at the rabbits and crows that she caught in her garden, for the only thing she loved more than spoiling the neighbors' children was tending her flowers and vegetables.

One evening she was in her home, reading her nightly scriptures as was her custom, when she heard a sound coming from outside. She opened her back door and peered into the vegetable garden, expecting to see a deer or rabbit, gobbling her lettuce. The garden was quiet and still and there was no sign of whatever had made the noise. Her eyes skimmed the flower garden and fruit trees and she started when she saw two blaring eyes peering at her from within the shrubbery, dividing her property from another garden that had been empty for years. She stared at those glowing eyes for a moment, a little bit frightened, and then realized with relief that they must be the eyes of a cat.

"Is that you making all that noise out here?" she called, "Well run along now it's getting late." With that she turned inside the house and went back to her bible. As she read, she suddenly felt a shiver and looked up to see the same two eyes staring at her through the window. This time, however, the eyes were accompanied by the form of a man in a wide-brimmed hat. She remained frozen in her seat, too frightened to move or to cry out. The apparition examined her carefully and intelligently, and then disappeared as quickly as it had come.

Madame was quite shaken and wasn't sure what course of action to take. Had she really seen a ghost? Or was some man watching her? She'd never seen a man with catlike eyes and was sure that it must have been something else. Perhaps it had really been just a cat and she had imagined the form of a man. After all, if someone meant to harm her or steal from her, they wouldn't be standing at the window where she could see them. Finally she locked the doors, said her prayers, and went to sleep.

The next morning, Madame went down the stairs and found a small package lying in the center of the room. She was surprised and was hesitant to open it. There was a note written on the brown paper. The writing was strange and childlike and it read:

Dear Madame Colette,

Please do not be afraid for I mean you no harm. I have taken up residence in the house next door and as your new neighbor I am sending you this gift. I promise not to be a bothersome neighbor. You will hardly know that I'm here. I trust that you will do the same and disregard anything unusual that you might see or hear as standard occurrences for a haunted house. If you should require anything on my part, do not hesitate to let me know about it.

Yours Truly,

The Ghost

Madame opened the package and inside there was a lovely hand carved and painted wooden doll. She sighed and touched it gently. "Well, he certainly is the friendliest spook I've ever heard about," she thought to herself and she wondered if she ought to send him a cake in return.