Give Me

She had brought her four-month-old baby, Ellen, with her, and had been a bit surprised when Josephine had shown up for the first time. Josephine was an elderly woman, full of old superstitions, who had apparently been "keeping-up" the house somewhat regularly over the years without anyone's knowledge. After days of listening to Josephine's old wives' tales and stories of horror, Gladys was beginning to regret hiring her as a full-time maid. In fact, if the new girl worked out, there might be no need to keep Josephine around at all.

"Ms. Whitmeyer!" the girl burst out excitedly as soon as the door opened. "It is Ms. Whitmeyer?"

Gladys nodded primly and stepped back to allow the girl entrance.

"Josephine," Gladys said, gesturing toward the old woman standing unpleasantly near the two younger women. "Josephine, this is Mary Hinnsworth, the new maid. Mary, this is Josephine."

"Only Josephine, nothing more," Josephine muttered. "I only need one name."

Once the introductions were over, Gladys got down to business. She handed Mary a set of keys and explained what her duties would be. They mainly involved cleaning, as Gladys liked to cook her own meals, but also included helping with Ellen and running errands that might come up.

"I'll certainly do my best, Ms. Whitmeyer, ma'am," Mary breathed, her eyes bright and earnest. "You won't have any problems with me, I swear it."

"Good then," Gladys replied. Beside her, Josephine looked exceedingly displeased. Mary was too excited to notice, however, and the rest of the day passed without incident.

******

Gladys sat up in bed, rigid with horror. She clutched a pillow in front of her and gazed over the top of it toward her doorway. Her heart rose into her throat and seemed to stick there, choking her.

She could make out a vague shape in the darkness. It seemed to be the form of a human, crumpled on the floor in front of the bedroom door. The moonlight drifting in through Gladys's window was reflecting off the person's clothes, a dress-like, white garment, and from this Gladys drew that the person was female. But it was not Mary, and it was certainly not large, sturdy Josephine. She knew that.

"What...?" Gladys gasped.

The woman in the floor shifted suddenly, and Gladys sensed that she was looking toward the bed, at her.

"Give me!"

Now she was sure the person was female. The voice, although hoarse and cracking, had definitely been that of a woman.

"What?" Gladys whispered back. Her knuckles ached as she dug her fingers into the pillow.

"You know," came the reply.

Gladys felt sure that she did know, and, pressing the pillow painfully into her chest, she screamed.

The light went on, and suddenly Gladys was not sitting up in bed at all, but lying in it as she had been when she had gone to bed. Mary and Josephine flew into the room, both of them scared and panting.

"What is it?" Mary shrilled, hanging back as Josephine walked briskly over to Gladys.

"I think you were only having a nightmare, Ms. Whitmeyer," Josephine said, as Gladys wiped perspiration from her face with the sheet.

"Yes," Gladys said, after frantically looking around her room. "Yes, that's it. I'm getting up now. We're all getting up."

"Of course, ma'am," Josephine said. "It's almost morning anyway." She turned to Mary. "Go get breakfast started, Mary. Ms. Whitmeyer could use something to eat, and she's in no state to cook."

Mary shuffled where she could. "But--but--I'm frightened."

"Go!" Josephine roared, and Gladys did not stop her. "If you're that easily scared, you certainly shouldn't be working here!"

Mary turned and ran out of the door.