Eileen
Are you there, Dr. Lewis?
Dr. Lewis
Hi Eileen. Is everything okay?
Eileen
Something terrible is happening to me.
Eileen
I’m afraid I’m going to hurt my baby!
Eileen
Should I call the police?
Eileen
I don’t want to hurt my own baby!
Dr. Lewis
Now listen, Eileen. I want you to stay calm.
Eileen
At home, upstairs.
Eileen
I’m too afraid to take him downstairs.
Eileen
There’s a spot at the top of the stairs…
Eileen
It makes me want to hurt him!
Dr. Lewis
I’m going to come over to your house right now to help you.
Dr. Lewis
I can be there in about fifteen minutes.
Dr. Lewis
Do you think you can stay calm until then?
Eileen
Yes. As long as I stay in the bedroom, the baby should be fine.
Eileen
The front door is unlocked.
Eileen
You can let yourself in.
Eileen’s old Victorian house is just south of downtown.
Dr. Karen Lewis, Eileen’s therapist, jumps in her car and drives there.
She parks outside and rushes into the house.
She’s about to hurry upstairs when she stops short.
Eileen is at the top of the stairs.
With the baby in her arms.
Eileen
I couldn’t stay in my room.
Eileen
It’s like there’s a magnet forcing me to this spot.
Eileen
And the feeling is so strong here.
Eileen
I want to hurt my baby!
Dr. Lewis begins to walk up the stairs.
Dr. Lewis
Let me take him.
Eileen
Don’t come any closer!
Eileen
He’ll die if you come any closer!
Dr. Lewis slowly walks backward down the stairs.
Dr. Lewis
Listen to me, Eileen. I know you’ve been feeling down for a while.
Dr. Lewis
You might be suffering from a medical condition called post-partum depression.
Dr. Lewis
We discussed this. It’s treatable. I can help you with it.
Dr. Lewis
But first, I want you to bring your baby back to his room.
Dr. Lewis
Put him in his crib.
Dr. Lewis
And then come down here.
Dr. Lewis
And we can talk.
A shudder goes through Dr. Lewis’s body.
The voice coming out of Eileen’s mouth sounds nothing like her.
Dr. Lewis
Aren’t you Eileen?
Eileen
No. My name is Esther.
The woman looks down at the baby in her arms.
Esther
My baby is alive!!
Dr. Lewis
Yes, Eileen, your baby is alive and healthy.
Dr. Lewis
And I know you want him to stay that way.
A shadow falls across the woman’s face. The raspy voice returns.
Esther
I told you, my name is Esther.
She looks down at the baby in her arms again.
Esther
I was mistaken. This isn’t my baby.
Esther
What are these strange clothes?
Dr. Lewis
That’s Jason, Eileen.
Dr. Lewis
Your beautiful baby boy.
Esther
No! My baby’s name is Matthew!
Esther
I thought for a minute he was still alive.
Esther
Because…I killed him!
She lets out an anguished sob.
Dr. Lewis is not sure what to do.
Somehow, she senses that this is NOT truly Eileen at the top of the stairs.
Could this be a case of multiple personality disorder?
She begins to address the woman as Esther.
Dr. Lewis
Esther, that baby’s name is Jason.
Dr. Lewis
He belongs to another woman called Eileen.
Dr. Lewis
Eileen wants her baby to be safe.
Dr. Lewis
Could you please give him to me?
The woman clutches Jason tightly to her breast.
Esther
I miss having a baby in my arms.
Esther
He’s so warm and so soft…
Esther
I’ll keep him safe. I promise.
Esther
I won’t let him die.
Esther
Not like my baby, who died last night.
Dr. Lewis moves a little closer to the bottom of the staircase and looks up at Esther.
Dr. Lewis
Esther, tell me something.
Dr. Lewis
Do you live in this house?
Esther
I live here with my husband.
Dr. Lewis
What year is this, Esther?
Esther
I just had a baby.
Esther
My husband is away.
Esther
He’s a sea captain, and he’s always away.
Dr. Lewis feels goosebumps up her arms.
Esther
I’m all alone here.
Esther
There is no one to talk to.
Esther
And no one’s here to help.
Dr. Lewis
It must be very difficult, Esther.
Dr. Lewis
It’s hard to care for a baby all on your own.
Esther starts sobbing again.
Esther
It is. It’s so hard.
She looks down at Jason in her arms.
Esther
But I love my baby so much.
Esther
He’s so beautiful.
Esther
But he cries all the time.
Esther
And I don’t know how to make him stop…
Dr. Lewis
Tell me what happened last night, Esther.
Esther looks at Dr. Lewis with alarm in her eyes.
Dr. Lewis
It’s alright. I’m here to listen.
Esther paces back and forth at the top of the stairs, with Jason in her arms.
Then she stops at the center of the stairs and looks down at Dr. Lewis.
Esther
He was crying all day.
Esther
His face was all red and he was gasping with sobs.
Esther
Nothing I did would help.
Esther
I was afraid he would die from crying!
Esther
I walked this hallway with him for hours.
Esther
I just wanted him to stop crying!
Esther
That’s all I wanted, I promise!!
Dr. Lewis
And then what happened, Esther?
Esther
I don’t know what came over me.
Esther
I THREW him down on the floor near the stairs.
Esther
“Be quiet!” I said.
Esther
And then…and then he fell all the way down the stairs.
Neither of the women speaks as the horrible image settles in.
Esther
He was quiet then.
Esther
And I guess I got my wish…
Esther
Because he was quiet forever.
Dr. Lewis
I’m sorry Esther.
Esther
No one else ever knew.
Esther
I told everyone he died of influenza.
Esther
I told everyone that I buried him.
Esther
But I was too ashamed.
Dr. Lewis
What? What do you mean?
Esther
Right where you’re standing…
Dr. Lewis
Your baby is here?
Esther
He’s underneath the floorboards.
Esther
I just want to see him one more time.
Dr. Lewis rushes to the kitchen, searching frantically.
She returns to the staircase with a knife, and uses it to pry open the old floorboards.
She removes a pile of crumpled newspaper from the year 1896.
Underneath the newspapers is a blanket tied up in string.
Carefully she pulls out the blanket.
There is a hollow clunking sound inside the blanket.
It’s the sound that old bones make when they hit one another.
Dr. Lewis
Here he is, Esther.
Esther rushes down the stairs, still clutching Jason.
Dr. Lewis
Esther, listen to me.
Dr. Lewis
I’ll give Matthew to you…
Dr. Lewis
If you give Jason to me.
Esther carefully hands Jason over to Dr. Lewis.
Dr. Lewis hands the blanket containing the bones to Esther.
Esther cradles the old blanket in her arms.
She doesn’t seem to hear the clunking noises that it makes.
Esther
I’m so sorry, my darling.
Esther
I love you so much.
Esther
I love you so very much.
Suddenly Dr. Lewis sees a cloud of light rising above Esther’s body.
The cloud travels up, up and up, and then escapes though the ceiling.
Dr. Lewis looks into the face of the woman before her.
And she knows it’s Eileen again.
Eileen looks around her in confusion.
She looks at the bundle she’s holding.
And over at her baby in Dr. Lewis’s arms.
She sets the blanket down on the bottom stair and takes Jason from Dr. Lewis.
She cradles him in her arms.
Eileen
I love you so much.
Eileen
I was so afraid to come downstairs.
Eileen
And I don’t remember how I got here.
Dr. Lewis
I’ll explain it to you in a minute.
Dr. Lewis
I never would have believed it if I hadn’t experienced it directly.
Dr. Lewis
But first, how do you feel?
Dr. Lewis
Do you still feel like you want to hurt your baby?
Eileen looks down at Jason and kisses him all over his face.
Eileen
It’s like that terrible feeling…has just left my body.
Eileen
Does that make sense?
Dr. Lewis
Yes, it makes perfect sense.
Dr. Lewis and Eileen, holding Jason, are standing in front of two graves.
The other grave is very new.
One gravestone says Esther Lynnley, b. 1880, d. 1950
The other gravestone says Matthew Lynnley, b. 1896, d. 1896
Dr. Lewis turns to Eileen.
Dr. Lewis
Esther was only 16 when she had that baby.
Dr. Lewis
And she was all alone in that house.
Dr. Lewis
She must have been so overwhelmed.
Eileen
I know. I think…that’s why she chose to haunt me.
Eileen
Because I’ve been struggling with that too…
Eileen
Especially since Jason doesn’t have a father.
Dr. Lewis
I know, Eileen. It’s completely understandable.
Dr. Lewis
Can I help you with it?
Dr. Lewis
Esther wasn’t able to get help for her condition, but you can.
She looks down at the baby in her arms.
Eileen
And…okay. I’d like some help.
The two of them look silently at the graves.
Eileen
I don’t think she meant to kill her baby, do you?
Dr. Lewis
I think she truly loved him.
Dr. Lewis
That’s why I wanted to reunite them.
Eileen
I’m so glad you did.
Eileen
Rest in peace, Matthew.
Eileen
And rest in peace, Esther.
