Janet Walker 
Behind Closed Doors 

Beth had decided that today she would walk further up the lane and see what there was to see. As she walked she noticed the beautiful wild flowers and marvelled at the trees just starting to bud. Suddenly she came across a house set back from the lane. Beth picked her way carefully up the rough track, to where a rickety, weather-beaten gate hung crazily on its hinges. Beyond, a tangle of weeds and overgrown shrubs almost hid the old house from view. But there it stood, silent and long neglected. It was as if, behind its closed doors, it was waiting – waiting for Beth – waiting to become once more a place of laughter and music, companionship and prayer.