The Blood Red Drapes

We drove up to our driveway, arriving at our newly purchased house. I glanced at my wife and her eyes were sparkling like the stars in the night sky. The kids were super excited to see their new home, and both tried vigorously to get out of their car seats. The oldest wanted to choose his room first before his little sister could because he desired the biggest room to sleep in. While I was unpacking the car, Eleanor kept our son from choosing his room. My daughter was looking out the top right corner window with her purple scarf waving in the wind and dead leaves blowing in the wind. I walked up to her and asked what she was looking at and if she wanted her room to be there since it was a side bedroom of course.

She pointed to the window. “I saw a lady in a dress there,” she said.

I looked back at the window, but nothing. I didn’t see anything but the red drapes.

“I don’t see anything honey, maybe it was the drapes playing a trick on you,” I replied.

“No daddy, I saw a lady,” she insisted.

“Okay, I believe you, hey why don’t you help mommy unpack the van, and then we can pick your guy’s room, does that sound okay?”

“OK,” the daughter responded.

As I watched her run inside, I looked back up at the window again. The drapes were open, and I felt the freezing winds of autumn. I saw only leaves falling to their deaths.

As Elenore was unpacking our clothes and bed sheets, I helped the kids with building their beds and organizing their clothes. Both were playing with the many toys they had scattered around. Soon came supper and everyone had growling stomachs that sounded like a toad was about to fart. Therefore, I decided to order pizza for the family. We watched Disney movies all night.

It was late at night, and I couldn’t sleep because I wasn’t accustomed to sleeping in our new house yet. I lay in bed and tried to fall back asleep, but I couldn’t. I watched the ceiling fan as it was spinning constantly and it made my eyes burn with tiredness but still, I couldn’t sleep. After an hour or two passed, I heard one of the doors upstairs close and then loud footsteps walking down the hallway above our room. At first, I thought it was one of the kids heading to the bathroom. I was startled when a door slammed shut again, louder this time. Again, the door slammed even louder, and as I was walking up the stairs, my head felt dizzy, and my legs felt fatigued. I got up the stairs and headed to see what was happening and who was slamming the door. I open my son’s room, and I see that toys and boxes are scattered all over his room. I look at him. He was solemnly sleeping.

After checking to see if it was him, I walked over to my daughter’s room. As I got closer to her room the air became still, frozen even. With each step I took, the air was getting colder. It felt like my blood was boiling and sharp needles were stabbing me constantly. Upon opening the door, I saw her sleeping to my surprise, and I began to wonder who was slamming the door constantly. I decided it was time for me to go back to bed. As I was about to walk down the stairs, I heard a clicking sound behind me. I turned around hesitantly, and I saw a woman standing in the middle of the hallway with her head tilted sideways. Her dark cold black eyes were staring at me, and it felt like she was looking into my soul. She was whispering something, and I tried to hear what she was saying. As I got close to her, she darted straight to my daughter’s room. My heart began to thump harder each time I took a step closer to my daughter’s room in an attempt to chase after her. When I reached the door, I tried to enter it, but it was locked from the inside. I desperately tried to open it, but I could not. Finally, I kicked through the door and screamed my daughter’s name. But she and the mysterious woman were missing. The window was wide open, and the red drapes were waving in the wind. The leaves that fell were all but gone.

I rushed down the stairs to our bedroom and cried for Elenore to wake up. She was startled. “What happened?” she asked in a panic.

I told her that a woman had abducted our child and fled the house. She searched for her cell phone to call 911 and I ran back upstairs to get our son and bring him into our bedroom. We didn’t move a muscle while we waited for the police to arrive. My grip on the baseball bat was so tight that my hand started to turn purple. Once the police arrived and heard the wailing sirens, I told Elenore to stay while I spoke with the police. As I walked out of the room, she held our son tight, and we both cried onto each other’s shoulders. As I opened the front door, I was greeted by three police officers who asked what the situation was and how long ago the kidnapping had taken place. I simply let the officers in, and they asked me if they could search the house.

“Yes, of course, her room is upstairs to the right.”

The officers searched the room for any clues about the woman in question.

“Mr. Everett can you describe what the lady looked like?” the detective asked.

“Umm, it was dark, and I couldn’t get a clear look.”

“That’s okay just try to remember every detail counts.”

“Umm, ahh she had dark brown… no black hair, pale skin, and she had a torn-up dress on, and she wasn’t wearing any shoes.”

Elenore started crying again and I ran over to comfort her as I started to cry because my little girl was missing. As the other two police officers came down from her room and inspected the house, the officers said they didn’t find anything, and the house was empty.

“Well Mr. Everett we will take this information, but we would like you to come by the station tomorrow morning and talk to a sketch artist to get a better description of the woman, and then we can put an all-out bulletin for the woman.”

“THAT’S IT,” I said. “Can’t you set up a widespread perimeter and try to stop her escape?”

“We’ll have officers stationed next to your house for the night and have patrol cars canvas a small perimeter but I’m sorry that’s all I can do for now.”

“ARE YOU SERIOUS? My daughter is missing. Send out the national guard. DO MORE!”

“Sir, we’re doing everything we can to locate your daughter. In the meantime, go back into your home lock your doors, and try to get some rest through this terrible night.”

As they got into their cars, I put my hands at my side and started to cry. This time the tears were rapid, and I gasped for air and dropped to my knees. I looked up at the stars and asked God to help me find my daughter, but I got no answer. I scanned my neighborhood and saw people staring at me to see what the commotion was.

All I did was yell out, “WHAT ARE YOU ALL STARING AT?”

My tears were running down my cheeks and saliva was drooling down my mouth. I got up and slammed the door behind me and never looked back.

It was the next morning. None of us could sleep and we waited for the sun to rise again. As I sat in my daughter’s bed staring deeply into her favorite stuffed animal unicorn and watching out the window, I cried. I wanted nothing more than my daughter back. By midmorning, Elenore and I had dropped our son at his grandparents’ house, and we were heading to the police station to continue my statement about the sketch artist. In my description, I was clear and concise. My eyes were baggy as were my wife’s. Once the session was over, I asked what would happen next.

The detective came in and said, “Now that we have a clear image of the woman, we will send it out across town and statewide in case she tries to flee outside state lines.”

Elenore and I were somewhat relieved after the session and left to go pick up our son.

“Hey buddy, what are you and grandpa doing?” I asked.

“Me and grandma were drawing pictures while you guys were gone.”

“Wow,” Elenore said, “these are so cool,” with a half-smile.

I look over to her mother and I shrug, as her eyes begin to water.

“Okay buddy it’s time to head home.”

“Ok but can I take my drawing home and hang it on the fridge?” he asked.

Of course, I grabbed the drawing to hold onto it, and as I looked closely at the drawing, it was me, his mom, his sister, and him. But there was another person, a lady surrounded by the darkness behind the kids. I asked, hey who is this woman you drew buddy?

“Umm, it’s that lady that came to talk to me before two policemen came.” He answered confusingly.

My heart began to race. “What did you say? Did you say she talked to you?”

“Yeah, she asked me what my name was and my sister’s too. She also asked if we wanted to play with her.”

“Well, what did you say?” Elenore asked her son.

“I said I was tired, but she can go ask my sister.”

We both looked at each other in surprise.

“Did you ask what her name was?”

“Yeah, I’m not crazy dad, of course, I did. Her name was Béatone.” Béatone? Do you remember what she looked like at all?”

“No, it was super dark, and she smelled like a sewer drain.” After leaving the house, I asked Elenore for her input on the situation.

“I think he’s telling the truth; I mean isn’t it a coincidence that a random lady came to talk to our kids and then kidnapped our daughter?”

“Yeah, there’s something off about this lady like she’s watching us.”

“I hope not,” Elenore said. “Let’s just get home and sit by the phone, okay?”

“Okay,” I replied.

As we headed into the house, I noticed the drapes were open in my daughter’s room, but I saw a figure standing behind the window and she walked away.

I immediately ran into the house; don’t come in, I saw the lady.

Elenore grabbed our son tightly and got back in the car and locked the doors and watched to see what happened next. I ran up the stairs so fast that my head began to get dizzy. My eyes were being consumed by darkness, my mind was hellbent on catching this woman and my anger felt like a raging fire ready to implode. Once I reached the room, I opened the door, and she was gone. I ran back downstairs to allow Elenore to come inside. As we searched the house, we looked around the room for clues. We noticed scratch marks behind the bookshelf as if it was a secret passageway. We both grabbed on and pulled open the door and the loudest creek broke out like from a horror movie. What we saw was inhuman the foul stench of sulfur and an altar with a book in the center. Next to it was a small doll that resembled our daughter. Elenore opened the book and started rummaging through the pages to get any answers but only saw inscriptions and what looked to be instructions for a sacrifice. She immediately closed the book, and we looked at each other her fear in her eyes, and we both knew what was about to transpire next.

I told Elenore, I’m heading to the church and I’m hoping to get help from the priest.

“Okay honey, stay here and protect our son.”

“Go…now hurry,” she said.

I rush over to the church. I open the sacred doors to find the priest telling him everything.

“Ok I’m going to get some supplies and I’ll meet you back at your house,” the priest said as he left for his office.

As we arrived back at the house the lights were off, and I knew something was wrong. As I walked inside, I heard screams crying out for me. It was coming from downstairs. Of all the places the creepy dark basement with nothing but cold concrete and cobwebs was where my family was being held hostage by this inhuman parasite. The priest was about to condemn her back to hell, as I walked alongside him.

“She has corrupted this place and has made it a beacon of darkness for her followers,” the priest said. “What do we do father?”

“We pray for the return of your daughter before she takes her soul.”

As we approached further into the basement, I could see the woman more clearly as the fire from the stove illuminated the room. She was skinny with frizzy hair as if it hadn’t been washed in a while, and her torn-up dress looked similar to the drapes in the room upstairs, red with black and white florals scattered throughout. After she was done whispering her enchantment, she turned around and stared deeply at both of us and the priest began his work.

“Begone your inhuman spirit and leave this plain and this family forever.”

She began to wail out a cry, but she kept walking. Elenore was shackled to the heater, and I saw her staring at something. I looked over and I saw our little angel floating unconscious with her head bent downwards. As I ran towards her the demon noticed me and let out a huge scream knocking me off my feet and onto the table. The priest was getting tired and kept saying Bible verses to keep her at bay.

“Return to where you were condemned into the pits, and I will cast you into the lake of fire.”

She starts to back away from the man and he starts shaking holy water onto the unholy spirit, burning her, and with the last touch, he presses the cross onto her forehead.

“In the name of Jesus Christ, I condemn you Béatone.” She begins to stutter around and cries out in pain and the floor begins to crack open and slowly drags her down to the dark abyss.

Once the demon was cast out, I ran over to help free Elenore while the priest walked over and bent down to our daughter. He put his hand over her forehead to see if she was still alive and repeated a verse from the Bible and made her drink some holy water.

“Now what father?” Elenore said.

“We wait and let the Lord decide her fate.”

Within a few seconds, she woke up coughing and hugged me tightly and said she was scared, and I said it’s all right you’re going to be alright.

Two weeks later we finished unpacking all our belongings and finally finished setting up our kids’ rooms. While in my daughter’s room, she was playing tea party with her stuffed animals, and I saw the red drapes.

I asked, “Hey do you want new drapes sweetie, maybe some pink ones?”

“Yeah, can there be butterflies on them daddy?”

“Yes, honey, there can be butterflies on them.”

As I ripped down the drapes, Elenore and I only saw it fitting to burn them and watched as the ash rose, and leaves began to flutter into the red flames.