【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 a high wooden fence. she collapsesinto a lawn chair as the tears begin to subside. suddenly,she hears something ing from next door.she cocks her head and attempts to make out the sound. itis, ironically, the sound of a woman crying. claire makesher way over to the fence. the women39。s sobbing bees moreplaintive and fevered.she places her face against the prickly, vine covered fenceand tries to peer through the crack. all she can make out isa dark blue blur that seems to be rocking. claire gathersher nerve and calls out...clairehello...there39。s no reaction.clairemrs. feur?the sobbing chokes down to a breathless whimpering. the blueshape vanishes from view.clairewait a minute. i just wantsomething bumps against the fence. claire draws back. shehears heavy breathing.mrs. feur(sniffling)who are you?claireit39。s mrs...it39。s claire...spencer. fromnext door. is everythingmrs. feuryou39。re the flower lady.claireum...yes.mrs. feuri39。ve seen you. from the window.claireis everything alright?claire leans closer to the tiny crack. she sees a fleshyblur and what might be part of an eye. there39。s no response,just the breathing.clairehello?mrs. feuri39。m not...she seems on the verge of losing it again.mrs. feurhe39。s so...it39。s too much...and i can39。t...ican39。t breath...clairewho? your husband?mrs. feurand i39。m afraid. oh god, i39。m so afraidof...she trails off.clairewhat? what are you afraid of?mrs. feuri can39。t, no, no, i can39。t...claire edges closer to the crack.clairetell me. please.mrs. feurthat i39。ll just...that one day i39。lljust...disappear.beat. claire39。s taken aback by this admission.clairetell me. i can help you.mrs. feurhow? how can you help me? with yourflowers and your perfect life...clairethat39。s not...it39。s not like that.mrs. feuri39。ve never even met you.clairei know. and i39。m sorry. i39。ve been consumedwith...my daughter left...for school.mrs. feurthis fence...it39。s so...clairei39。m sorry. it39。s for the flowers. whydon39。t you...tires can be heard crunching the gravel as a car pulls intothe feur39。s driveway.mrs. feuroh god. he39。s back. i39。m sorry. pleaseforget that i...i don39。t know what i39。msaying. please...clairewait! don39。t go...claire listens to the sound of naked footsteps, followed by alarge front door swinging shut. a car door swings open and aman39。s shoes follow down the path.claire pulls back from the crack and leans against the fenceas the door closes a second time. she sits there for amoment listening, but all is quiet.claire (.)she sounded terrified.int. dining room nightclaire and norman eat dinner. a rainstorm pelts the windows.normanof what?claireof him i think.normandid she say that?clairemore or less.norman chews.normanhoney, they39。re young. they39。re probablynewlyweds.clairei39。m telling you. there was something inher voice...normanremember how we were?clairenot like this. we were never like this.(beat)i want to go over there. after dinner, wecannormanwhy?claireto make sure she39。s all right.norman puts down his fork.normanclaire, honey, we are not going to marchnext door and accuse our new neighbor ofclaire(overlapping)that39。s not what i39。m sugnorman...when tonight they39。ll probably bekeeping us awake.clairebut what if something happens?normanclaire...clairei39。d never be able to live with myselnorman(reassuring)nothing39。s going to happen.(beat)besides, i have to work tonight. theconference is in less than two weeks.i39。ve got to stay focused on that for justa little longer.(beat)this is...clairei know.normanit39。s what i39。ve been working for.she glances down at her untouched plate.clairei just wish you could have heard her.normanlook, i39。ll call harvey tomes in the psychdepartment, see what i can find out.clairepromise?he gives her a 39。didn39。t i just say so39。 look. she smiles.clairei39。ll make you some coffee.she reaches for his plate to clear it. norman grabs her handand kisses it.int. norman and claire39。s room nightnorman snores softly. claire is awakened by the continuingstorm. she pads out to norman39。s turreted library. rainpelts the glass. her face is briefly illuminated by thelighthouse beam.she hears the sound of a door closing and moves to get abetter view of the feur39。s. nothing but blackness. just asshe39。s turning to go back to bed. a lightning flash lights upthe night. claire39。s eyes go wide.claire39。s povin the split second of brilliance, she sees mr. feur, inshirtsleeves, drenched, dragging a large duffel toward theopen trunk of his car.claire(in a hoarse whisper)norman!he39。s dead to the world. she calls to him again.clairenorman, you have to look at this!normanmmnph.clairehurry...another flash illuminates...norman at her side.clairelook!...an empty driveway, then blackness.normanwhat is it? what39。s the matter?she stares down into the darkness.clairenothing. there was...i thought i sawsomething.normanis it gone?the beacon illuminates the empty driveway. she nods.normane on, let39。s go back to bed.yet another bolt of lightning reveals claire, still at thewindow.ext. backyard morningclaire sets up a camera and tripod. she steps back and aimsher camera. she glances up at a large upstairs window at thefeur39。s house. one side of the curtain seems to be pulledopen, but no one39。s there.feeling selfconscious, she turns back to the camera. themorning sun hits the flowers just right and she snaps severalpictures of them against her lovely house.she glances back at the feur39。s window. the curtain is nowclosed.she walks over to the fence and tries to peek through it.when this doesn39。t work, she drags a lawn chair over and peersacross the fence. she can barely