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Mrs. Henry Miller had lived alone for several years. Her husband was dead. But he had left her a comfortable amount of money. He also had left her a nice apartment in New York City near the East River. There were three other apartments in the large brown building where Mrs. Miller lived with her bird, a yellow canary name Tommie. Mrs. Miller was 61 years old. She had no friends and no special interests. One evening in January, Mrs. Miller saw an advertisement for a movie. It looked so interesting that Mrs. Miller decided to go to see it. There was a long line of people waiting to buy tickets for the movie. Mrs. Miller stood at the end of the line. Looking around her, Mrs. Miller noticed a little girl standing near the line. The child's hair was absolutely white, silver white in fact. The child was thin and delicate. She wore a blue silk dress under her red velvet coat. Mrs. Miller felt strangely excited. And when the little girl looked at her, Mrs. Miller gave her a warm smile. The little girl walked over to her and said, "Would you do me a favor? Would you buy a ticket for me?
They won't let me go into the movies alone." She handed Mrs. Miller the money and they stood together in the line. Mrs. Miller felt there were something strange about the little girl. Her eyes were gray and very large. But they did not seem like the eyes of a child. "What's your name, dear?" Mrs. Miller asked. "Miriam." The child replied. Mrs. Miller smiled "Why isn't that funny? That's my name too. I am Miriam Miller." The little girl was silent. By this time, they had reached the ticket office. Mrs. Miller bought two tickets. She gave one to Miriam and said, "It was nice to meet you, but I must go now." Miriam just nodded her head. The next week one evening after dinner, Mrs. Miller's doorbell rang. She opened the door. The little girl in the red coat was standing there. "Hello," said Miriam. Mrs. Miller did not know what to say. Miriam stepped into the apartment. She took off her red velvet coat and dropped it on the chair. The dress made a soft swishing sound as Miriam walked around the room. "What do you want?" Mrs. Miller asked, "And how did you know where I live?" Miriam laughed, "Let's talk about something else." She said. She walked over to the birdcage, which was covered by a piece of cloth. Mrs. Miller raised her voice, "Leave my bird alone." "All right." Miriam said, "But I am hungry." "Look," Mrs. Miller said, "If I prepare something for you to eat, will you be a good girl and go home?" "I promise." The little girl said.
Mrs. Miller's hands were shaking as she made the sandwich and put a glass of milk for Miriam. She kept asking herself who this little girl was and why she had come to her house. Mrs. Miller carried the food into the living room. The room was empty. Mrs. Miller began to feel a little frightened. She went into her bedroom. Her jewelry box was open and Miriam was looking at Mrs. Miller's jewels. The child turned to the old woman looking deeply into her eyes. "I want this pearl necklace." She told her. "Put that back." Mrs. Miller ordered, "You can't have it. That necklace was a gift from my husband." "But I want it." Miriam insisted, "It's beautiful. Give it to me." Mrs. Miller suddenly felt very weak. She felt if she was going to faint. Miriam put on the pearl necklace and went into the living room. She ate the sandwich and drank the milk quickly. "That’s very nice." She said when she had finished the food. "But I wish I had some cookies or chocolates." Mrs. Miller sat on the sofa. Her face was very white and her eyes were staring into space. "You promise to leave if I made the sandwich." She said.
Miriam picked up her coat and put it on. Then she walked to Mrs. Miller "Kiss me that night." She ordered. Mrs. Miller trembled "Please." The old woman whispered "I, I do not want to." "All right." Miriam said, lifting in eyebrow." She walked slowly to the door, turned and looked at Mrs. Miller. Then she was gone. Mrs. Miller spent the next day in bed. The day after that, Mrs. Miller woke up feeling much better. The sun was shining and when she opened her bedroom window. She discovered the weather felt almost like spring. The day was so beautiful. She decided to walk along the wide avenues of New York's East Side. When she came to a big shop, something strange happened. Mrs. Miller could not stop her feet from carrying her inside the store. She spent ten dollars for a bag of chocolates and some cookies. The weather had changed again. By the time, Mrs. Miller came out of the big shop. Winter clouds through gray shadows over the sun. A cold wind blew in the streets. Soon, snow began to fall. Mrs. Miller hurried home. As soon as she entered her apartment, she put the chocolates on a plate with the cookies. At exactly five o'clock, the doorbell rang.
"Is that you?" Mrs. Miller called. "Of course." Answered Miriam. "Open the door." "Go away," Said Mrs. Miller. She sat down on the sofa. Mrs. Miller did not move for ten minutes. Then she walked quietly to the door and opened it a little bit. Miriam was sitting on a large box outside the door. She was holding a beautiful French doll. "Really," Miriam said, "I thought you never open this door. Help me get this box into your apartment. It's very heavy." Mrs. Miller felt as if she were in a dream as she carried the heavy box into her living room. Miriam sat on the sofa watching Mrs. Miller. She picked up a chocolate and put it into her mouth. "I will come to live with you." She said. Mrs. Miller's face turned into a mask of ugly red lines. She began to cry and ran out of her apartment. She ran down the steps and began knocking loudly at the first door she came to. A short man with red hair opened the door. A young woman stood behind him. "Please," cried Mrs. Miller, "I am your neighbor. I live upstairs." She covered her face with her hands. "I know I am some crazy. But I am afraid of a little girl in my apartment. She won't leave. She has already stolen my pearl necklace. I just know she wants to do something terrible to me."
"Calm down." The young woman said, "Harry will go upstairs and take care of her." Mrs. Miller sat down. "You are very kind." She told the young woman, "and I am sorry to cause you any trouble." After a few minutes, they heard Harry coming down the stairs. Harry came into his apartment shaking his head. "Nobody is there." He said. Mrs. Miller stood up. "Did you see a large box or a doll?" "No man." Harry said slowly. Mrs. Miller went back to her apartment. The chocolates and cookies were still there. But the room was empty. Where was Miriam? Where was she? Mrs. Miller sat down. The room was dark and getting darker. Mrs. Miller closed her eyes and began thinking. Maybe there was no girl named Miriam. Maybe she had imagined everything like a dream. Mrs. Miller began to feel better. She was Mrs. Henry Miller. She lived in this apartment. She cooked her own meals. She owned canary. Mrs. Miller knew who she was. She felt safe and relaxed. Then she heard the songs coming from her bedroom. Someone was opening and closing the drawers of her bureau. Mrs. Miller sat with her eyes closed tightly. She heard the soft swishing sound of a silk dress. The sound grew louder and louder until the walls of the apartment began to shake. Mrs. Miller opened her eyes. "Hello," said Miriam.
