The blinds were all closed. Curtains too. Lights off. All, but . . . one. I squinted harder, looking for any signs of movements. My heart started beating faster in anticipation.
When the light blinked off, Tux jumped up onto my leg and barked. A scream sounded over my lips and echoed into my quiet, empty room. I looked down at my dog, who was panting and wagging his tail. I bent down to pick him up and placed him on the bed. I pulled down the blinds, drew the curtains, and climbed back into bed. Sleep quickly took over.
I woke up at 3:07 am. Something was scratching at my window. A dim light crept into my room.
I HADN’T GOTTEN out of bed when I woke in the middle of the night. I squeezed my eyes shut tight and tossed and turned until I fell back asleep. When I finally got up for the day, I wasn’t even sure if I had ever woken up at all. Maybe I had been dreaming, having a nightmare. I’d had plenty of those before.
Stassi left for school bright and early, her blonde hair a perfect mess. The light freckles sprinkled across her nose were covered by makeup. Mascara lifted her lashes and pale pink lip gloss glimmered on her thin lips. She placed a light peck on my cheek before grabbing her travel mug filled with coffee and tossing her backpack over her shoulder. Then, she was gone. Off to her first day of school, in a new place, yet again.
After Stassi left, I poured myself a cup of coffee. I watched the black liquid fall from the pot to my cup. It swirled once it landed, quick and with purpose, and then it suddenly stilled. I put the pot in the sink to wash later and grabbed my mug as I made my way to the small sitting room at the front of the house.
I curled myself into one of the comfy sitting chairs, bringing my knees to my chest and wrapping one of my arms around them. My other hand brought the mug to my lips. I took a sip of the robust coffee and closed my eyes as I swallowed. I kept my eyes shut for just a moment and inhaled deeply.
When I opened my eyes, I noticed, for what seemed to be the first time today, how bright the room was. My lips warmed into a smile as I placed my cup on the nearby desk. I stood from the sitting chair and moved over to the seat behind the desk. I powered on my computer and as I waited for it to load, I made a list of the things I needed to get done.
Being a graphic artist had its perks. I made my own schedule and could work from home most of the time. I could sit at a desk in my office and let the warm sun shine into the window to warm my pale skin while I sipped on my coffee.
• • •
My day was mostly filled with getting things done around the house while I avoided doing actual work. I unpacked the remaining boxes and went to the grocery store. I hung pictures on the walls and jogged throughout the winding roads of my neighborhood. I did some work for a website but was shutting off my desktop when Stassi walked through the door.
“How was school?” I asked as I stood from the wooden desk.
“It was fine,” Stassi said firmly as she jogged up the steps to her room.
I frowned at her quick ascension up the stairs. I wondered if her day really had been fine. Stassi typically talked to me when she got home from a new school, but I decided to let the silence roll off my shoulder for now. She was growing up and growing apart from me. But that was a part of adding years to life, wasn’t it?
Stassi ate dinner in her room and left me to sit at the dining room table alone. I’d only eaten by myself a few times in my entire life. Growing up, there was always someone around and then there was Stassi’s dad. When he was gone, there was only Stassi. She told me she had a lot of work to catch up on since she had started school later than her classmates. I shrugged my shoulders and reminded her to bring her plate and cup back down to the kitchen when she was finished eating. She walked up the stairs with a groan, but let me catch the small smirk on her lips before she made it to the top, disappearing into her room for the rest of the night.
As I ate a bite of my grilled chicken and couscous, I looked down on the floor beside my feet. Tux was sitting in his bed, staring up at me, just waiting for me to drop a piece of food onto the floor reminding me I wasn’t really alone at the table.
• • •
I was determined not to hear the scratching at my window tonight. I told myself that my mind would fall right to sleep with the rest of my body. My imagination would shut down, not to be turned back on until I awoke for a brand new day tomorrow.
I had been asleep for a few hours when my body started twisting in the sheets. I wasn’t sure what had woken me, but when I opened my eyes, there was a faint flood of light creeping through my window.
Again.
I rolled over and looked at the clock on my nightstand.
3:07 am.
My eyelids fluttered and tried to seal themselves shut, but they wouldn’t stick in place. Tux stirred beneath the comforter. He peeked his head out of the covers and his big brown eyes looked up at me. I know dogs don’t really smile, but Tux was smiling at me. I couldn’t help but smile back and I shook my head.
Seeing as how I was already awake, I figured I would take Tux out to go to the bathroom. When I left my room, the light to the house across the street was still on. I hadn’t heard any scratching on the window, but as soon as I opened the front door, my eyes scanned up. I wanted to catch whatever it was that had been grazing my window at night. But there was nothing there, not even a sign that anything ever had been.
I looked back in front of me as Tux pulled on the leash. I stood at the end of my front porch, before the sidewalk to the driveway began, and waited for him to start sniffing around for a place to relieve himself. The light to the top bedroom of the otherwise dark house across the street was still on. I watched it mercilessly. I watched it the way my eyes had watched the shadow in the empty townhouse so many years ago. However, this time, there was no shadow. It was just a light. It was a light in a house where I had seen nobody come or go. It was a light that turned on and off. It was just a light.
My attention only snapped away when I heard a loud crash sound from my left. I jumped and looked over to where the sound had come from. Nothing was there. At least, it appeared to be nothing in the darkness. Tux sauntered back to where I was standing. I looked back to the light. It was off. The house was dark again. My heart was racing. I heard another crash then quick movement rustling from a bush near where the loud noises had come from. The sounds stopped and I was about to breathe in a huge breath of relief when something darted past me, almost skittering over my bare toes. I swear I saw the fox give a sly grin before it disappeared to my right. But foxes don’t really smile, do they?
Tux barked and I screamed. The sounds echoed into what seemed like an empty abyss. A dark, hollow box. The box was being filled with water, drowning me. My chest was heaving trying to catch a breath. The darkness was blinding. Tux barked into the night sky again. I blinked one time and looked up. The small light in the house across the street was on again. I tilted my head and watched as my breathing slowly returned to normal. There was no shadow.
I looked down at Tux, who was back to wagging his tail as he eyed me. I turned to retreat back to solace. I placed my hand on the front door knob and turned. I heard a loud click sound into the night behind me. I turned to look.
The light in the house across the street was off again.
A WEEK HAD passed and I had slept through some nights and was awoken on others. There was something odd about the nights here, but I couldn’t quite pinpoint it. It was almost like I had been here before. Like I had experienced the night in this same place. I wondered if I needed to start taking my sleeping medication again when I continued hearing the scratches on my window, only to keep searching for the source and coming up with nothing.