The Secret Garden Chapter 10: Strange occurrences by D.L. Copyright  © 2011 D.L. All Rights Reserved. Inspired by the classic children’s tale by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Richard had finished his breakfast, or at least as much as he wanted to eat. The child was once again portraying herself as a boy while Martha cleared the ashes from the fire and made the bed as the girl ate. The kitchen always sent more food than needed. Going to the window, the youngster looked out over the gardens to judge the state of the weather.

On the days when rain would come and prevent going outside, the child, dressed as a boy, would descend the stairs to the large well-stocked library and spend time reading. It was cloudy and looked like it may rain. Having finished reading a book in bed last night, the youngster decided to return it to the library and swap it for another.

Richard had made it to the bottom of the stairs and along the first floor corridor to the main staircase before realising that the pocket watch had been forgotten and left upstairs by the bed. Turning back, the child returned to the bedroom.

The girl noticed that the remaining slice of toast had vanished in the time she had walked down the flight of stairs and back. Looking round, she could see nothing out of place, but she knew that something or someone must have been into the room in the short time that she was absent.

The plate was still where she left it, so it wouldn’t have been Martha or any of the other servants, as they would have taken the breakfast dishes away. Often, if they were busy, they didn’t bother to come and take the breakfast tray down until mid-morning.

Curious, the child decided to investigate the matter over the next few days. Each morning, one piece of toast was left behind, on leaving the room. Stationed at the bottom of the stairs, Richard could watch the staff go by. Sitting out of the way, but within watching distance, she got out her paper and pencils and started to copy one of the paintings on the wall opposite.

The youngster only had to wait about a quarter of an hour before Martha went upstairs and returned a few minutes later carrying an empty plate. Martha herself could have eaten the toast, but she suspected somebody else was up there. It would possibly explain the ghost stories.

The same schedule was repeated for the next few days. In each case, the child found a location somewhere in view of the stairs so that the empty plates could be observed returning, and didn’t go back to the room until the afternoon.

Figuring if the routine suddenly changed, then the person would be caught out, the child decided to make a change the following day. After eating breakfast and leaving one slice of toast, Richard left the room and went straight down to the library. Picking up a reading book, the girl, once again in manly clothing, then immediately returned to her room. She crept up the stairs as quietly as she could and slowly opened the door to her room. As she did so, she heard a scurrying of feet from inside.

Poking her head in the door she couldn’t immediately see any difference in the room, but entered anyway, closing the door firmly and loudly behind her. Walking across the floor, she got on the settee and lay down. She started to read her book, deliberately ignoring whoever may be hiding. While pretending to look at the book she carefully observed the room for changes, trying to see if anything was out of place.

The measure of a good artist is the ability to observe, and the child was a keen observer. Looking round the room, she soon spotted the toes below the curtain covering the alcove that acted as a store for the firewood, the fabric ending a few inches from the ground. There would be enough room for a person to stand. The feet were smaller than hers, so she suspected there must be a younger child hiding in her room.

Footsteps could be heard approaching the door, and soon Martha entered to retrieve the breakfast dishes.

“Oh, I didn’t expect to find you still in here,” Martha said on seeing Richard, “I thought you would be outside on a day like this.”

The girl shook her head and pointed at the book she was reading.

“You’re going to read instead?” Martha asked, to which the child nodded.

Martha picked up the empty breakfast dishes and left the room, oblivious to the feet under the curtain. At least if she did notice them, then she didn’t say anything.

The child spent the next few hours watching the toes. At one point, she put down her book, picked up her sketchpad, and sat drawing the toes. They were remaining very still, with only the slightest movement every now and then.

Becoming thirsty, the girl reached over, picked up the jug of water from the table, and poured a glass of water. As she did so, she thought she heard a sharp intake of breath. Looking at the hiding place, the child noted that there was now only one foot below the curtain, and the toes were now curled into a ball. Whoever was hiding behind the drape seemed to be in some discomfort.

Realising that the person had reacted to the sound of the water, the girl recognised the most likely cause of the problem. While intriguing to wait and see what would happen, she didn’t fancy risking a puddle being left on her floor. She walked through to the bedroom and reached under the bed for the chamber pot.

The toes were still visible as she returned and walked over to the alcove, bent down, lifted the bottom of the curtain by about a foot, and slid the porcelain bowl under the drape until it was only a few inches from the toes. Letting the fabric fall back into position she walked over and sat on the settee.

The bowl moved further backwards and the feet moved so that they stood either side of it. Instead of being flat to the ground the heels were now raised, indicating the person was now crouching over the pot. Only the tips of the feet, and the bottom half of the pot were visible to the child.

A few seconds later, the sound of liquid could be heard splashing into the bowl, accompanied by a huge sigh of relief. Whoever it was must have really needed to go, as the sound lasted for a surprising length of time.

Everything went quiet for a few minutes. It was obvious to the person hiding that they had been discovered, and not being able to wait any longer had used the offered vessel. Slowly the curtain was pulled back to reveal a small girl, a few inches shorter than the former boy, standing over the now rather full pot.