7.

With little Ester Leigh Fontaine having been born on the first day of June 1982, she would be eligible to begin school in September 1986 though in most similar circumstances advice may be given to hold off by one year. Despite any and all advice offered to her, Estelle Fontaine was determined to get her daughter started in school as early as possible especially with the fact that she had gone to a pre-school without any hitches at all.

Without any hitches at all ... what do you call the death of a child not yet six months past? Yeah, it had not been school related, and it may have been deemed an accident but mum is even coming round to the thoughts that there is evil in the family home. Would it be wise then to send Ester off to school? Whatever thoughts there are, whatever life has become in recent years, one can only believe what they know is for sure.

The Fountaine's are still a family ... who wouldn't have a want for their own family to be as normal as humanly possible? If there is something off about the child or not wouldn't it be wise to integrate some sort of system, some sort of normalcy to prevent a possible development of something which could be considered ... off.

Pre-school had been three and a half hours twice a while coming to an end the week prior to a fourth birthday. When the possible start to regular school is made Ester is three months or so older once September comes round than what she had been when pre-school ended and all going well, she will be attending this school until she is twelve years old or thirteen years old if the one year delay is put in place either for the beginning or for any other time.

Perhaps the desire to get Ester off to regular school was an attempt to herself to prove that the child is perfectly normal and as normal as any other child in existence. Undoubtedly, Jim was one hundred percent against this. He definitely did not want the child to attend any kind of public school and with mother refusing to listen then he had to do something to delay entrance to school by at least that one year, but no, Estelle is hell bent on a school beginning happening as soon as possible. Someone will end up hurt, possibly another child, Jim can't allow that to happen.

By the time September of 1986 came around, Jim was not one to visit public houses at all never mind visiting with any regular occurrence though on the evening prior to Ester's first scheduled day of school he had been sitting at a bar drinking alone for about ninety minutes at a time when garden center worker Chris arrived to join him.

What began as downing a couple of pints of lager or so had moved on to whiskey and ice and doubles at that by such time Chris arrived to take the stool next to Jim. Chris asks for his drink of choice before either he or Jim manages to take an opportunity to greet each other. This get together here in this moment is not a typical social coming together and both men know this so very well.

'She starts school tomorrow ...' Jim simply says as Chris's drink arrives. '... Christ ... I have no idea what I could or should be doing.'

Chris pays for and takes his drink with a nod of thanks to the bartender before suggesting a move by nodding towards a table away from the main bar area which in itself suggests that the two should go chat with a bit of privacy. Jim gets up off his stool and needs to catch his balance. It is clear and obvious that he has had a fair bit to drink already. He is aided in the brief move.

'What am I gonna do?' Jim asks once the two have sat. 'I can't let her start school ... like what if she harms another child. Hell, what if she kills again?'

'It's what we are going to do. You are not alone in this Jim ...'

'I don't want ... it is not your ...' Jim says slurring his words a little, 'but what is it that you think you can do?'

'The school your little girl starts within tomorrow has a number of floral arrangements both outdoor and indoor which have been got from the center where I work. Since school indeed begins tomorrow, I am tasked to look after those arrangements until the regular groundskeeper returns from vacation. I will be around over the whole of the morning and afternoon so I can keep an eye out for your daughter and see how things go from there.'

'Alright, that sounds like a beginning and it is something. What happens after tomorrow if the first day of school goes well? What if it doesn't go well? And when the groundskeeper returns, who can look out for her then? And hell, what if tomorrow really does go straight to hell? What if someone gets hurt? I don't know if I could live with that.'

'Yeah well, we will take this one day at a time. It all will work out, trust me.'

'Trust you? Why? What is it you got in all this?' Jim says, not holding anything back, his voice loudening as he speaks. 'What is all this to you anyhow? You are only the guy from the garden center, an employee of a store my wife has being going to for years. Are you after my wife or something?'

'Of course not Jim, and keep your voice down will ya? We don't want to add any unnecessary attention to ourselves ...' Chris says knowing this is the drink and the worry talking more so than Jim himself. 'It is only you and I who know for sure something is not right. Even you said it yourself that police thought what happened to that girl in your greenhouse was nothing more than a freak accident ... but we know better, don't we?'

'That, we do ... yes.'

'Then well, who else if going to do anything about any of this if it isn't for you and I?'

'You are a good guy Chris ... I thank you.'

It is difficult to know what else to say. Chris downs his drink and the two sit in silence for a moment or so. 'There are these dreams I have been having for some time, but we can discuss that at another time ... C'mon Jim, get that drink into you and we'll get you home. It is a big day tomorrow.'

'That it is young man ... that it is ...'

***

It is white, pure white all around and there is nothing else ... anywhere ... nothing other than that pure whiteness. Christopher Lenard Furlong stands alone and turns a full three sixty to take in all of that pure bright whiteness. It is endless. He is about to set off on a second three sixty turn when something catches his eye.

There are people ... two of them off in the distance ... both young ladies. Chris begins to move towards them and as he gets closer to them, he can see gates ... a pair of bright gold gates. The girls are speaking to one another and appear to be unaware of anyone coming towards them.

'Excuse me' he says coming to within thirty feet of them.

They do not answer him or acknowledge him in any way. Instead, they keep on talking to one another. Even though he has come quite close, Christ cannot make out what either lady is saying.

'Excuse me' he says again, not recognizing either of them.

One has long dark hair and the other long blonde hair. The blonde-haired lady smiles and the dark-haired lady makes a move towards the gates, still neither of them pay any attention to Chris. Once past those gates, the dark-haired girl vanishes and then it hits.

A plume of black smoke quickly builds beyond the gates. The blonde girl reaches out, her eyes are wide and if Chris could hear her it is likely she'd be calling out an extended no. As she reaches out, it soon appears as if she is being hit by some sort of a shock wave and this is followed by that plume of black smoke as it shoots out through those gates engulfing her first and then it engulfs Chris.

Chris wakes at home, alone in his bed. If what he saw is something that is to happen then he must do something to ensure that it doesn't.