Bump in the Night
Hey, good to see you again. Sit back, kick your shoes off and enjoy the story.
Claire1066
It was the middle of the night when I heard it. It was a strange sort of noise, the kind you don’t expect to hear in the middle of the night. A scratching, almost pawing sort of a noise. Definitely out of place.
There it was again.
I shot to an upright sitting position in my bed; my blood draining to the bottom half of my body, my heart unprepared and unwilling to keep up with the excitement. I waited for my circulation to catch up, so that the whooshing sound in my ears would lessen and I could listen for the Noise again.
Silence encased me in the darkness. I was alone. I tipped my head slightly to one side, like a mobile radar station, and methodically combed the blackness for the Sound. Minutes passed. Nothing. The darkness expanded silently around me.
I laid back down and reorganized the quilts. I shoved my pillow around a bit and closed my eyes. I must have been dreaming.
Scratch, scratch.
I shot back up, this time with circulation and held my breath. I had definitely heard something. There was something somewhere that shouldn’t be there where it was, of that I was sure. I just couldn’t quite say what and where, but there was distinctly something making a noise that it shouldn’t be.
I did the radar thing again and listened, closing my eyes in concentration (as if I could see anything anyway).
There it was again. There was something downstairs in the living room. I could hear it moving things around; quietly, sneakily. This was not good.
I slowly pushed back my covers and slipped silently out of bed, my bare feet cringing on the cold floor, my heart pounding in my throat. Reaching under the bed, I pulled out my baseball bat (the one I’ve dragged halfway around the world for just such an occasion) and crept noiselessly to the door. I stood and listened again, hoping I wouldn’t faint.
Creak, creak.
Eerie, unusual sounds. Sweating despite the cold, I slipped out into the hallway, pressed my body against the wall and slithered silently down the stairs. My mouth was completely dry and I could feel the hair standing up on the back of my neck. There was trouble brewing and I was in the middle of it.
I reached the bottom of the steps and paused, listening again. A light had been turned on and I could hear faint breathing and things being moved around on a table. It was terrifying. I would have to whack the trespasser over the head, if I were to stop him from doing whatever it was that he was doing. I ventured a quick peek around the corner and saw a shadow on the wall. The intruder seemed to be on the couch, probably counting the money he was stealing. Tightening my grip on the bat, I planned my attack. I would count to three and then jump at the couch and swing.
One…..two…..two and a half…..thr…
Suddenly a head popped around the corner. ‘Hey, what are you doing up? It’s the middle of the night. And what’s with the bat?’
My son looked at me questioningly. ‘How am I supposed to get your Christmas presents wrapped if you won’t stay in bed?’
I dropped the bat and sat down on the last step, knees weak with relief. Ah, right. It’s true, Sometimes scary moments are just your presents being wrapped.
Put your bat down too, and go back to bed. Let the surprises unfold. They go way beyond Christmas.
Happy unwrapping,
Lisa
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Yes. Yes. Yes. This story is wonderful. Well done, and thanks for a good read.
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Lisa Reply:
December 21st, 2009 at 14:52
Thanks, Daniel. :-)
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Ja, du hast Recht. Das, was uns Angst macht wird meistens gut, wenn wir es einfach zulassen und nicht sofort mit dem Baseballschläger hinhauen.
Es stimmt wirklich.
Danke, wieder eine gute Geschichte. Ich lese jede Woche mit.
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Lisa Reply:
December 21st, 2009 at 14:53
Hi Susan, es ist nicht immer alles wie es zuerst scheint. Scary momente sind manchmal gar nicht so scary. Danke für dein Input.
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Nice post! I held my breathe thinking what it was ^_^ By the way, thanks for leaving a comment in my article “They Say Happiness is a Choice.”
mina´s last blog ..They Say Happiness is a Choice
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Lisa Reply:
December 21st, 2009 at 14:54
Hi Mina,
Thanks for your comment!
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Lisa you sure know how to tell a story. My heart was in my throat.
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Lisa Reply:
December 22nd, 2009 at 8:01
Hi Kim,
Mine was too, I can assure you of that! It was crazy until I realized that there was no danger. Then it came to me that there is seldom ‘real’ danger when we are afraid. Unknown and unfamiliar things (like those noises in the night) can be very frightening, if only because we’ve never dealt with them before. But often it turns out that frightening things are really nice things if we just let them develop. If we stop trying to bop everything with a baseball bat, then we’d see that most of it is fun, rewarding and special, just like christmas presents.
I’m looking forward to unwrapping them!
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Beautiful.
This hits the nail on the head. With a baseball bat. :)
My scary moments of something going bump in the night of my psyche are all really about perception. Staying open to the possibility that it might not be a serial killer isn’t my default setting. My default setting is “be prepared for the worst”. Which can close the door to being prepared for the best.
I love that sentence “Sometimes scary moments are just your presents being wrapped.” Brilliant.
Jane´s last blog ..Holiday Horses Parade: Wendy and Buddy
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Lisa Reply:
December 22nd, 2009 at 11:09
Hi Jane,
I love the way you put it …’which can close the door to being prepared for the best’. Ah, ain’t that the truth.
Merry Christmas, and enjoy unwrapping your presents. ;-)
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Wow, between you and Jane I am drowning in profound truths here! =) It’s true though, I’m with you both on this one. My default setting is also Expect The Worst, but I’d never before considered how that might lead to missing the best. Thank you for such an enlightening and thought provoking post. I’ll need to work on reprogramming my settings now!
Michelle´s last blog ..Walkin’ in a Winter Wonderland
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Ha, like Jane and Michelle and you, why do we go to the worst scenario, always?
It is interesting though, because there is no reason for it as you say most of the time there was no danger, only fear made up in our head. You would think that after that many occasions when there was no danger we would learn, wouldn’t you.
Excitement is a far more joyful feeling that fear, so replacement must be easy, musn’t it?
Hmm.
Wilma Ham´s last blog ..Only acceptance has you do things differently.
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Lisa Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 11:36
I think danger itself is often only a product of fear, so yes there is even sometimes danger, but that created by ourselves. Yes, replacement really should be easy, especially when it so obviously doesn’t serve us as well as joy does – and would be if fear were rational (which it generally is not). This is the difficult thing, I suppose. We can’t rationalize it away, so there it often sits; laying in wait for the next time it can pounce on us.
It’s easier once we have had a good look at it (the fear) and worked through it enough to be able to admit that it isn’t getting us what we want and to be able to let go of it and instead embrace an emotion which serves us to a desirable end.
As soon as I’ve mastered it I’ll let you know. :-)
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