The ethereal entity has manifested itself, taking on the metaphysical form of a six-year-old, little girl; one which, coincidentally enough, happens to look a lot like Beth did when she was a child at that age. Beth, however, wouldn't recognize this similarity in their appearances being how due to a severely traumatic event in her life at that time, she has lost a large portion of her childhood memories during those years; only retaining bits and pieces of fragmented, vague memories from it.
And, for some unbeknownst reason to Beth, her family doesn't speak of it; refusing to give Beth any details, or even a hint, of what happened. The family doesn't even have any photos of Beth when she was a young child ... the earliest photos of herself that Beth has seen started from when she was around thirteen years old, and beyond; nothing before then.
The entity, who refers to itself as Mary, watches from the barn's loft as Beth eventually draws the Bay window's curtains shut. An impish, little sinister grin emerges upon Mary's lips...
But then quickly disappears once she senses her presence. A presence of a forlorn, tortured soul ... yet another ethereal entity somehow bound to that place ... her nemesis, Chelsea. And now sensing that presence, the impish, little sinister grin has been replaced with a menacingly contorted scowl.
Chelsea usually kept to herself within the confines of the woods by Miller's Lake; but ever since the Lazinski's ... or, more specifically Beth ... had moved into that house, she's been drawn to there; keeping her distance so far, while observing from the tree line of the woods abutting their backyard.
An incensed Mary brusquely thrusts open the left-side loft door and immediately looks over towards the direction that she senses Chelsea's presence; intensely scanning the tree line, with her eyes focusing-in like a hawk hunting its prey, to see if she can spot her. Soon, Mary can make out ... though just barely ... Chelsea's obscured outline within the dense foliage of the woods.
While being sure to invoke her ghostly powers to prevent herself from being heard by living beings; Mary angrily shouts out at the top of her lungs, through snarling lips at Chelsea...
"Get the fuck out of here! Leave ... go back into the woods to the lake where you belong; you ugly, little bitch! ... They're mine; so, stay the fuck away!"
************
After finally managing to pull herself away from the Bay window ... and stop obsessing over the barn's loft doors for the time being ... Beth heads downstairs to the kitchen to make breakfast for both her and her six-year-old daughter, Anna.
They've been there a little over three weeks now, and there's still more unpacking to do; but at least Beth managed to get everything squared away in the kitchen, having made it her priority to take care of that first. In her eyes, this undertaking was a 'major accomplishment'; an achievement to be proud of, even if others may view it as an insignificant task bearing no great importance. But, regardless, Beth still holds that sense of accomplishment and pride; after all, the kitchen has always been, and always will be, her 'domain' wherever they live.
Beth is heading over to retrieve a frying pan from one of the kitchen island's cabinets, when out of the blue, that feeling of uneasiness begins to seep into Beth's psyche. She doesn't know why, but something feels wrong; there's something not right about the kitchen's aura.
Beth takes a brief moment to take a look around the huge kitchen's surroundings. She hasn't noticed anything out of the ordinary just yet, but that feeling of uneasiness is still gnawing at her; and it's growing in intensity with each passing moment.
But right now, Anna needs to have breakfast; so, Beth resolves to put that feeling of uneasiness on the proverbial backburner for the time being and move forward with preparing her daughter's meal. However, when she goes and opens the cabinet where she placed the frying pans and peers into it, another wave of that feeling of uneasiness overcomes her.
A bewilderingly stunned Beth closes her eyes and tries to visualize how she had arranged the pots and pans under there, which isn't too difficult for Beth to do considering the fact that she has her own methodical organization for the placement of things in her home that she has strictly followed for years.
She opens her eyes and immediately closes them tightly, then opens them once again and scrutinizingly stares into the cabinet. Beth then proceeds to open all the other cabinets and drawers to inspect them; always coming across the same startling finding every time...
Since last night, all the contents of each of the kitchen's cabinets and drawers had been moved around; everything out of place from how she had initially arranged them. Beth quickly comes to the realization that this bizarre occurrence has to be the driving force behind this surge of trepidation she began feeling since coming into the kitchen; and it's growing stronger.
Beth starts breathing rapidly and heavily, with her hands shaking. She reaches out for the kitchen dinette table as she stumbles back, falling into a chair; nearly tipping it over.
Fear is now overwhelming Beth to the point where her labored breathing has transgressed into hyperventilation, while keeping her hands tightly clasped in front of her mouth. Her whole body, though rigidly tense, is trembling uncontrollably at this moment.
Suddenly ... a voice sounds out from the kitchen's entranceway...
"Mommy?"
Startled, Beth abruptly jumps up from the chair, letting out a short, high-pitched scream as one of her hands clenches her chest, while the other one wrenches the side of the dinette table to keep from collapsing under buckling knees.
A perplexed and highly concerned Anna rushes over to her mother's side. "Mommy, are you okay?"
At first, unable to respond right away, Beth takes a moment to catch her breath; and, also during this time, she starts to feel a little sensation return to her previously rubbery legs. So, managing to at least being able to stand semi-erect on her own without having to use the table for support, Beth stumbles forward using her body's momentum to make her way over to the sink. Once there, Beth twists the faucet to turn on the water, grabs a sponge off the sink's countertop, and starts fumbling about feigning as if she were washing dishes.
During this facade, which she has been using as a stalling tactic, Beth tries to recompose herself a little more before answering her daughter; who's standing almost motionless, watching her mom with an anxious expression etched on her small face.
Beth finally responds, "Mommy's fine, sweetie; you just surprised me, that's all. ... So; are you hungry?"
"Yeah, a little bit."
"How about some eggs?"
Anna replies while heading over to sit down at the kitchen dinette table, "Yes, please."
Beth dries her hands off on the apron that she's putting on while going over to the refrigerator. "Sweetie ... you didn't happen to move things around in the kitchen last night; did you?"
"No."
Beth figured as much. Then asks, "Do you know if Daddy did?"
"No, I don't think so."
Again, Beth figured as much; and decides to move on from it for the time being. "Oh ... okay. So, how do you want your eggs; scrambled or sunny side up?"
"Sunny side up, please."
As Beth takes the eggs and butter out from the refrigerator, she quips, "You got it, two eggs sunny side up, coming right up."
Anna giggles at Beth's impromptu rhyme, which she found to be a bit funny; albeit a little corny, too.
Beth starts melting the butter in the frying pan, then cracks open an egg. Immediately, she shrieks from an unexpected horrifying sight ... a blood-filled egg yolk.
Alarmed by her mother's sudden outburst ... which, taking into account her screaming out only moments ago, is actually the second one Anna's witnessed since entering the kitchen ... Anna jumps up from her chair and rushes over towards Beth; who's trembling by the stove. She cries out...
"Mommy, what happened?"
Beth doesn't want Anna to see that appalling sight, so she rapidly steps forward to intercept her daughter; and manages to grab onto Anna, stopping her in her tracks before reaching the stove...
"It's nothing, sweetie. Go sit back down, please."
Anna once again finds herself a bit perplexed by her mom's strange behavior; after all, she just heard her mother scream, so something must have happened for her to shout out like that...
"But Mommy..."
Anna's brusquely cut off by an evidently completely on edge and frazzled Beth, "Go sit down, now! Please! Just sit!"
Anna just stands there frozen, totally confounded by what's happening. Her lips begin to quiver ever so slightly, then she instinctively begins to bite down on her bottom lip. Tiny tear droplets begin to accumulate in the corners of her eyes before streaming down her cheeks, running in a single path on each side of her small face.
This is an emotionally disconcerting sight for Beth to bear witness to, and immediately pulls at Beth's heartstrings ... in truth, more like wrenches them ... causing her to start crying; but she soon forces herself to stop and hold back her tears. Beth bends down and lovingly hugs Anna, while speaking tenderly in her ear...
"Sweetie, Mommy's sorry. Everything's fine, really. Please just go back to the table and wait for Mommy ... I'll be right there, okay?"
Anna wipes away those two single streams of tears from her cheeks as she sniffles; then softly replies, "Okay."
Anna meanderingly walks back over to the kitchen dinette table, glancing back over her shoulder a couple of times at Beth along the way ... who nods and shoots her daughter a forced reassuring smile back each time ... then once reaching there, slowly sits back down in her chair.
Now, the still unnerved Beth apprehensively approaches the stove as a curious Anna meticulously watches her mother's every move with discerning eyes.
Once at the stove, Beth takes a moment to take in a deep breath as she attempts to gather up her nerve. After doing that, feeling about as ready as she's going to be, Beth warily leans over to look back into the frying pan. And just like before, Beth is immediately taken aback by the sight...
That previously blood-filled egg yolk is now an everyday, normal looking egg yolk.
Beth takes in another deep breath ... this being one of feint relief ... then languidly shuffles herself back over to the kitchen dinette table to join Anna.
Beth's completely confounded, wondering if she's no longer capable of determining what's real and not real anymore. Right now, in her racing discombobulated mind, Beth is asking herself 'Was Martin right ... is the stress of the move getting to me? Could this all just be in my mind?'
But then Beth wonders even if this inexplicable uneasiness and feeling that something's watching them ... not to mention those unfounded suspicions that the people in town are keeping secrets about this place from them ... are all simply just subconscious manifestations caused by her own anxiety aggravated by the stress of the move...
And even if that blood-filled egg yolk was nothing more than a figment of her imagination also brought on by her anxiety...
What is the explanation for the fact that everything in the kitchen's cabinets and drawers have somehow been rearranged? She herself had placed everything in its proper place; in the same manner that she has done for years now. ... Or did she?
Beth's racing mind comes to a grinding halt when she suddenly hears Anna ask...
"Mommy ... are you still going to make me eggs?"
Still left feeling a bit on edge and frazzled by that appallingly horrifying sight ... figment of her imagination or not ... Beth just can't seem to get that disturbing image out of her mind right now; so, she beseechingly asks Anna...
"Well ... how about some cereal instead, sweetie?"
An agreeably easy-going Anna quickly concedes, "Okay."
************
While a self-doubting Beth continues to struggle in her mind trying to decide whether or not what she's been experiencing here in this house since moving into it is actually happening, or if it's all an anxiety-induced fabrication created in her mind ... Mary is standing on the back porch, just outside of the kitchen's back door peeking in through its curtain; with that same impish, little sinister grin once again etched upon her lips like before, as she watches this event play out.
And, just like before, that grin soon fades away and is quickly replaced with another menacingly contorted scowl as she once again senses her presence. Mary immediately turns around and rushes off the back porch; then charges over towards the woods abutting the Lazinski's backyard.
Mary feverishly paces back and forth along the tree line, intensely peering into the dense woods trying to locate Chelsea. And after desperately scanning the area to no avail, Mary angrily screams out at the top of her lungs; again, making sure to keep herself unheard by the living's ears ...
"I know you're out there, bitch! Didn't I tell you before to go back to the lake and stay away from here?! Just leave you ugly, little bitch ... go away!!"
Mary continues to feverishly pace back and forth in a highly agitated state, intensely peering into the woods in an attempt to spot Chelsea ... when she suddenly happens to notice out of the corner of her eye...
One of the barn's doors slowly opens ever so slightly into an ajar position; then closes.
Once again, at that moment, that impish, little sinister grin reemerges upon her lips. Mary mutters under her breath to herself...
"I see now. ... Hmm ... I wonder if that's the reason why that ugly, little bitch is coming around here."