The stairs approached quicker than I expected them to. I almost fell down but grabbed the railing before my feet and balance failed me. When I made it downstairs, I turned on all of the lights again, just as I had the night before. I was searching for the shadow when I heard the front door open and slam shut. I ran after the sound. The door was shut. Locked. The deadbolt was turned. I looked out the window and my eyes found the same dark figure making its way down the street.
My hand reached for the front door knob so that I could go outside and chase after the thing I was sure had to have been in my house this time.
Drip, drip, drop.
I spun around. All of the lights were off except for the glowing at the top of the stairs. My body felt like it was floating toward it. My feet touched the carpet at the top of the landing after I made my way up the stairs. I walked toward the bathroom and checked the faucet. It was off, but the sink was wet with water.
My reflection stared back at me in the small mirror. My skin was pale and there were huge bags under my eyes. I rested my hands on the edge of the sink and took a few deep breaths. When my breathing was under control and my heart wasn’t going to attack me, I turned the light off in the bathroom.
Stassi’s door was cracked. I walked toward her room and opened the door just enough so I could see her lying in her bed. Her chest was moving up and down as she breathed quietly in her sleep. I shut the door and walked back toward my own room.
My head hit the pillow and my eyes closed almost instantly. The thumping of the music started softly. The sound grew louder as my heart shook in my chest and trepidation took over my body.
IT WAS ANOTHER beautiful day. The sky was the bluest I had seen it since we moved, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The soft noises of a normal day were filling the air. I rocked back and forth in my chair as I swallowed warm, creamy coffee. I found myself drinking it more frequently. I was getting less sleep and the caffeine was the only reason I made it through the day.
Tux, who was sitting on the ground next to me, stood as the front door opened. Stassi walked out, barefoot, and bearing her own cup of liquid bliss. Her face appeared less tired than mine felt. Her eyes were bright, and her cheeks were bouncy and flawless and full of color.
She sat down in the chair next to me and placed her steaming mug on the small table between us. Tux found a comfortable spot in the sun and after roaming around in circles, laid back down.
“Saturdays are the best.” Stassi’s voice was so clear, so vividly, crystal clear.
“Yeah, they are.” My voice was filled with exhaustion.
We both looked out in front of us. I was watching the house. Stassi probably saw something completely different. She didn’t seem fazed by the empty house. The odd structure that, to me, felt like was watching us back.
“Do you have any plans today?” I asked her.
“Not really. I’m babysitting tonight, but beyond that, I’m just chilling.”
I smiled at the thought of my daughter being around the house. We hadn’t had much time together.
Stassi picked up her coffee from the table and began slowly sipping on it. I replaced the space where her full cup had resided with my empty one.
“What time do you have to go babysit?”
“Six,” she stated simply.
“Is this the same family you babysat for before?”
“Yeah. The Shelton family.”
I furrowed my brow as I tried to recollect meeting anyone by that name. “Have I met them?”
Stassi turned to face me. “No.” Her brow lifted in the same quizzical way mine had a few seconds prior. “You don’t have to meet everyone I interact with, Mom.” She smiled.
I quietly laughed. “That’s not why I asked honey. I just didn’t know if they were neighbors I had met.”
“Oh. No.” Her response was clipped before she elaborated. “Remember, I told you they didn’t live in this neighborhood.” She turned her gaze back toward the empty street.
“How did you meet them then?”
“Jeremy introduced us. He lives a few houses down from them. He knew they needed a babysitter and recommended me.” The corner of her mouth lifted as she turned back toward me. “Did I answer all of your questions, Mom?”
I shook my head and rolled my eyes in jest as I smiled at my daughter. My smile slowly disappeared as I remembered the first day I laid eyes on Jeremy. The day he showed up on my front porch behind my neighbors. He wasn’t a neighbor. He didn’t live here. How did he know we were new? Why did he know? Why had he been here?
My heart began doing that thing it did and trying to escape from my chest. My palms became sweaty and my mouth grew dry. The world around me started slowing down and then it snapped back at the sound of Stassi calling out to me.
“Mom? Did I answer all of your questions?”
I regarded her with a blank stare at first. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess you did.” I began rocking back and forth in my chair. “So, what do you want to do today?”
• • •
We didn’t do much during the day, making it a nice, relaxing Saturday. A day, I felt, we needed to have together. I dragged Stassi with me to the grocery store, picking up the things I needed for a dinner alone. Though we had enjoyed not only one, but two, mugs of coffee this morning, we made sure to stop at a local coffee shop we had discovered to pick up a steaming hot cup of joe.
The pair of us found ourselves back on our front porch enjoying the view of our perfect little neighborhood. For once, I felt like I wasn’t being sucked into the darkness of the house in front of me. I had my bare feet on the seat of my rocking chair as I held my knees close to my chest. Stassi was telling me a ghost story she had picked up from who knows where. It was actually pretty creepy and I hoped she wasn’t going to tell the kid she was babysitting tonight.
“And where did you hear this story?” I asked.
“I can’t remember.” She laughed.
“Tell me again.”
“So the woman had a fiddle that she would play almost constantly. She played the same tune over and over and over again.” She paused for dramatic effect.
I laughed. “Go on,” I practically screamed at her.
A grin so large it almost cut her face in two spread across Stassi’s cheeks. “She lured people up to her house in the sky. They were mesmerized by the sound, their bodies just followed . . . without thought.” She tucked loose blonde hairs behind both ears.
“Once they were up there, something was waiting for them. Something that wanted to eat them. Still mesmerized by the sounds of the strings they would walk right into the thing’s mouth. And POOF! They were gone.” She stared at me once her story was complete, waiting for a response.
We both sat in silence. Just watching one another, apparently in some sort of staring contest now. That’s when I saw it. A fleeting spark of orange. I turned my head and as quickly as I did, Tux jumped up and barked. I yelped then snapped my hand up to my mouth to cover it. The fox. The smiling fox. It was back. The small animal ran across the yard and disappeared.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into him,” Stassi muttered with annoyance as she grabbed Tux’s collar and pulled him back toward her.
I turned my attention back to her and let out a heavy breath. “I thought those things only came out at night.”