The Old Woman

By Christopher Galvan

“Why did I agree to come in today?” she thought to herself. Meredith was starting to rethink her decision to cover Denice. If she did not need the extra money, she wouldn’t have. Then again, being a waitress in a sleepy little town wasn’t so bad. Everyone knew each other and most of the regulars tipped well. Besides, she wasn’t covering the lunch rush, so she could take it easy.

This afternoon had been slow. Not a lot of customers had come in. All the busy work was finished, so most of the staff were just sitting around. Meredith had to fetch the occasional refill but other than that, she was getting bored. She didn’t have her phone, so she just sat in an empty booth watching the few patrons in the restaurant enjoy their meals.

Her eyes drifted lazily from one table to the other wondering what conversations were being had. An occasional glance out the window didn’t offer much. Downtown, mid-afternoon, was lifeless. A couple sharing a late lunch broke the silence, loudly laughing at something one of them had said. One of them glanced in Meredith’s direction and caught her watching them. She gave them a polite smile and looked out the window. In the distance she noticed something peculiar. It was a gray figure. It almost looked like a person but as she squinted to try and make it out, it was gone.

Suddenly the gray figure appeared at the main window at the front of the building. It looked like an old woman. She had long bony fingers and thin silver hair. Tattered clothes dangled from her emaciated body. She opened her mouth, revealing sickly black teeth and dark drool that began to run down her chin. She began to pound her fists on the glass.

She must be dreaming. No one else seemed to notice. Looking around, everyone else seemed to be ignoring the frightening woman. Who was this? Why was she only looking at her? Meredith began to say something just as the old woman’s hands broke through the glass. Shards hit the floor and shattered. The old woman climbed through the hole with an ease that betrayed her fragile appearance. Now she was coming toward Meredith. The old woman’s eyes were fixed on Meredith, burning holes through her.

Panic was setting in. Meredith was hyperventilating. She wanted to run, to scream, to throw something at the old woman. She was frozen. Still, no one had acknowledged the woman. What was going on? As she got closer, a nauseating smell struck Meredith’s nose. The smell of something that had died and rotted in the summer sun. It took all she had not to vomit. As she moved through the dining area, still no one noticed.

As the old woman was getting closer, Meredith was still unable to move. The booth she sat in seemed to be holding onto her. Her heart sank. This can’t be happening. “Wake up!” she thought to herself. The old woman kept getting closer and no matter how hard Meredith willed herself, she remained frozen.

After what felt like an eternity, the old woman was in front of her. Meredith, unable to move, watched as the woman reached out with her skeleton like fingers and grabbed her arms. Her fingers wrapped completely around Meredith’s wrists and began to squeeze. She watched as the fingers started to sink into her skin and become a part of her. Instead of pain she felt cold. Meredith looked frantically at the other people in the restaurant. How could they not see this?

Suddenly, as if a switch had flipped, Meredith was able to move. She jerked herself away from the old woman and stood up. Instinct took over and she immediately ran towards the door. Before she reached it, Rick the manager, stepped out from the kitchen. She ran into him almost knocking him down. As he caught his balance, he tried to help Meredith, but she was desperately scrambling for the door.

“Where’s the fire?” Rick asked.

“She’s trying to get me!” Meredith screamed.

“Who’s trying to get you?”

Meredith pointed to the booth she was just at. Rick looked but saw nothing. “What are you talking about?” Meredith looked back and the woman was gone. She looked at Rick with her panic-stricken face. “She was right there! I don’t… What is…” Meredith couldn’t believe it. Where did the woman go.

“Are you okay?” Rick was starting to be concerned for Meredith. She was drenched in sweat and not making any sense. Meredith shook her head. “I gotta get outta here.” She pulled away from Rick and as soon as she turned to the door, there was the old woman.

Meredith screamed. She turned back and tried to go the other way. Now she was between Rick and the old woman. Rick put his hands on her shoulders to try and steady her. “Meredith, you’re scaring me. Tell me what’s going on.”

“Do you not see her! She’s right there!” Meredith pointed at where the woman was but again, she had disappeared. What was going on? Meredith couldn’t believe it. She must be losing her mind.

Rick led Meredith to an empty table and sat her down. “Now tell me what’s going on.”

“I don’t know. I keep seeing this decrepit old woman trying to get me. She came in through the window. Don’t you see the broken glass?” As she pointed to the window, she saw that it was still intact.

“Meredith, why don’t you go home? Try to get some rest. If you want, I can have one of the cooks give you a ride. Or I can call your folks.” As Rick was talking, ice cold fingers gripped the back of her neck, and that rancid smell of rotten flesh was stronger than ever. As she turned to look, the old woman was right behind her. Meredith let out a blood curdling scream then the world went black.

When Meredith came to, everyone in the restaurant was standing over her. She had fallen out of her chair and was now looking up at a bunch of concerned faces. An EMT was kneeled beside her shining a pen light in her eyes. “Miss, do you know where you are? Can you tell me your name?” She nodded and quietly said her name. Then her eyes shot open, and she began to get up. “I gotta leave before she comes back.”

The EMT placed a hand on her shoulder and told her to lie back down. “It’s gonna be okay, Meredith. No one is trying to hurt you.” As he said this, a second EMT came in with a gurney and together they both moved Meredith onto it. “We’re going to take you to the hospital and have you looked at.”

After the EMT’s placed Meredith in the ambulance, Rick told her that her parents would meet her at the hospital. Once the two EMT’s had the gurney secured and were preparing to leave, one of them prepared a syringe. “Don’t worry, this is just to help you relax.”

As the ambulance began to move, the drug started to take effect. Everything was getting blurry, and she was starting to relax. As she looked around the back of the ambulance, she glanced down at her feet. And for a moment, right before the world went black again, there was the old woman.