CHAPTER FIVE

Eloise returns home that morning with a burning in her mind that she just cannot shake off. It is not just the oak tree or the woods. It is the entire town. It has become a disease to her and if she is not careful, it will chip at her slowly and eat up all of her sanity. Otherwise, how can she explain her breakdown in the woods?

To make things easier, Eloise decides that she will not inform her father of her decision to return to New York until she has packed her bags so that he cannot convince her to stay. Sure, he cannot take care of himself yet but Eloise knows that Mary Lou will check up on him. Also, while she has not confronted the issues of her past and is certain that she still cannot talk about them with Stanley or anybody, she has had enough and is uninterested in doing any more confronting.

As she throws her clothes into her bag in a disorderly manner, she hears a knock at the door. Eloise groans as she heads towards it. The people of this town have such poor timing, she thinks. Mary Lou is on the other side of the door with a basket of fruits in her hands. She has on her face a warm smile that is a sharp contrast to the look of absolute irritation Eloise’s.

“Mary Lou? What are you doing here?”

“I brought you these.” Mary Lou raises the basket in her hands as though it was not already big enough for anyone to see. “I hope this is not a bad time.”

“It actually is not. It is good that you are here because I am on my way back to New York.”

The news shocks Mary Lou more than Eloise expects. The shorter girl pushes past her and drops the basket of fruits on the hardwood floor before turning to face Eloise. “You cannot be serious,” she says.

“I am,” Eloise says defiantly. “I will get on the next train out of Montana.’

“But your father…”

“My father will be fine.” Eloise smiles at her. “And he has you. I just cannot be in this town any longer.” She falls quiet and averts her eyes from Mary Lou’s gaze. “It is all just too much.”

“Eloise,” Mary Lou’s voice is gentle. “You know that there is nobody who understands what you must be going through quite like I do but you cannot leave now.”

“Why not?” Eloise asks.

“Because I brought you back here for a reason!”

Eloise is shocked by both Mary Lou’s words and turns. She raises her eyebrow at her and gives her a questioning look. “Brought me back?”

Mary Lou swallows the lump in her throat before she opens her mouth to speak. “It was I who sent a tracker to look for you and it was I wrote you the letter to return. There is something that you must know.”

“What is it?” Eloise asks. She can feel her pulse quicken. She knows from the expression on Mary Lou’s face that she is serious. This is not just some silly ploy to get her to stay in town. “What must I know?”

“I cannot simply tell you,” Mary Lou’s voice as suddenly become a whisper. “It is delicate.”

“Delicate?” Eloise scoffs and begins to walk away from Mary Lou. “I do not have time for games, Mary Lou.”

“It is about Moira.” At the mention of that name, Mary Lou stops in her tracks. It is as though a sudden force has escaped Mary Lou’s mouth and wrapped itself around her feet causing her to be rooted in one spot.

“M-Moira?” Eloise stammers, the name heavy as lead in her mouth. “What about her?”

“I cannot just tell you here.” Mary Lou has resumed whispering. “Please, just stay until the play. I promise it will all make sense.”

****

Those seven words ring continuously in Eloise’s head every day and every night. They are what she uses to keep herself still anytime the sudden urge to up and leave comes upon her. Her need to make sense of all that happened to her and all that is still happening has overcome her want for an escape. The day of the play could not arrive soon enough.

Eloise arrives the local theater with John earlier than the opening time. She decides to take some time to take in the theater where she had spent most of her childhood and hopes that that will ease her anxiety. Like the rest of the town, nothing about the theater had really changed. The theater is unlike the ones that she has seen in New York. It is not big or fanciful and the seats are not arranged in a steep fashion. Instead, it is just a wooden structure constructed by the townsfolk and wooden benches arranged horizontally for the audience to sit. The only elaborate part of that theater was the backstage where they had successfully built an elaborate and covered pavilion for the cast and crew to do their business. Just as she finished her tour of the theater, the announcement is made that the show is about to start so Eloise settles into her seat next to John.

“The title of our play is ‘The Oak Crime’ and it takes place in a small quaint town in Montana where three teenage girls, Estelle, Marilyn and Marge are best friends,” a man on stage says and just like that, the play begins.

Eloise likes the character of Estelle instantly. She is witty and she dreams of moving far away to a big city, something that she can personally relate to. Of the three girls, Marge is the prettiest and the quietest and the play makes that fact obvious. Marilyn is the garrulous, outgoing one of the group who always gets them to break rules or do things that they normally would not do.

Fifteen minutes into the play, Eloise cannot help but feel impressed by Mary Lou’s work. She has not seen that many shows in New York but as far as she is concerned, it does not get better than this.

“But it’s so late,” Marge says on stage when Marilyn and Estelle tell her that they want to go for a late-night bird watching.

“Oh relax! The sun has barely even set,” Marilyn says with an eye roll, a wrist flick and all the exaggerated theatricalities of a stage actress. Eloise shifts uncomfortably in her seat. Yes, the acting of the actress is exaggerated but she has also seen a person talk just like that in real life.

“My father will be very angry if I get home late,” Estelle says.

“Estelle, I am sure that your father is busy enough running the local choir,” Marilyn says.

Eloise looks at her father sitting next to her then returns her attention to the stage, the plot of the play unfolding slowly before her eyes.

“What is that?” Marge jumps. The three friends are now in a forest at night after Marilyn convinces them to do so. “I am not going further.” Marge says defiantly.

“You know what? Estelle and I will just go without you. The owls are only a few feet away.”

“Fine, I’ll wait for you just by this oak tree.” Marge sits under the tree and makes a show of refusing to move any further.

The rest of the scene happens just as Eloise remembers it. Estelle and Marilyn walk forward to watch a group of owls and leave Marilyn behind. They return a few minutes later to meet the most horrific sight of their lives. There is a white-haired man with Marilyn, holding her down and tightening his hold around her neck, preventing her from screaming out and forcing his way with her. And true to real life, Marilyn and Estelle run as fast as they can away from the ghastly scene.

The members of the audience gasp as the man takes the last breath from Marge. There are a few murmurs in the crowd too. This is a difficult subject matter and Eloise imagines that it must be difficult for the townsfolk to watch.