She Has Made Her Presence Known

It was the little things we noticed first. Just tiny things, really. Nothing substantial. The exam room in the corner, down the end of the hall was always dramatically and noticeably colder than all the other rooms. The blinds in the other exam room would creep slowly down, in the afternoon sun. Of course, we attributed that to the expansion of the metal cord, which in actuality didn’t make a bit of sense at all. But when the strange things began to happen, even a weak explanation was better than none, sometimes better than the truth. But then the Hello Kitty snow globe would end up in the most unusual place, kind of like it had been lovingly carried around and then put down momentarily because of a more worthwhile distraction. The little trinkets on the windowsill in my office were invariably nudged slightly out of place when I come in the next morning.

The patients started noticing things, saying things, weird things. For instance, the little boy. I was talking to his Mom, discussing the plan of care. We weren’t really paying attention to him while he sat in the exam chair. He bursts out laughing, more like guffawing. We both turned to look at him. He is squirming with glee in the chair. His Mom asks him what is he is doing, is he alright? He replies, as he wiggles and chortles, yes, he is fine but could she please make the little girl stop tickling him. His Mum and I looked at each other and said in unison – what little girl? He stops, points and says “That girl.” His Mum pales slightly, hums the theme song to the “Twilight Zone” television show and quickly departs with the little boy in tow.

The temperature in the one exam room, down the end of the hall, has become significantly colder this week. The door to the exam room slams shut. The hands-free faucet turns on when no one is in the room and runs until the water is scalding hot. The blinds drop down while we stand and stare at them. There appears to be no desire to replace objects, the items are just scattered throughout the clinic, out of place, with a bold disregard for being covert or secretive.

The climax of this “haunting” unfortunately happened to a member of our clinic staff when she came in alone to prepare the clinic for the start of the day. Per her normal routine, she opened all the doors to let in some light from the windows. Upon her return, back down the hall, she realized with a chill that tickled its cold fingers up and down her spine, the one exam room door was closed again, you know, the one that is always cold. She did not re-open the door. She’s smart that way.

She came back out to the reception desk, and was busy copying pages. Waiting for the copier to complete the run, she turned to the glass window which looked out towards the waiting area. In the reflection of the glass, she straightened her scrub shirt. While looking at the glass, a movement caught her attention. In the framed picture directly on the other side of the glass, she caught the reflection of the girl. She was a girl of about 10 years of age, small and frail, skin white as eggshell, dark eyes. Her blonde hair was trimmed into a strangely cosmopolitan style, but asymmetrical, as if she might be wearing a blonde wig that didn’t quite fit properly. What was most unsettling about this incident was the mischievous smirk the girl had on her face as she stared directly at our coworker through the reflection on the framed glass. The ghost girl has purposefully made her presence known.

We are waiting for the next occurrence, the next incident. We know it is coming. We don’t know when or how, but things have been ramping up in our little clinic. Just the other day, I was waving farewell to one of my little patients. He is the most adorable, cutest little boy, with big brown eyes and a wise spirit. He turned to wave his good-byes to me, and then as he walked with his parents to the exit, he quickly turned his head, looked through the open door of the exam, and stopped. He then smiled a huge smile, and waved to whatever or whoever he saw standing in the exam room. We all looked at each other, with our eyebrows raised. What on earth will happen next?

We think it may be the renovation that has just recently started in the facility. I heard that renovating a building where the ghosts reside will annoy them, and the ghostly activity will accelerate. Who knows if there is any truth to any of that, but it does make you wonder.  It certainly seems to be the case in this situation.

Photo credits:

Hello Kitty Snow Globe – sanrio.com

Blinds in exam room – standardtextile.com

Water Faucet – slideplayer.com

Picture Frame – freepik.com

Waiting Room –  bestdecor.com