‘Twas a regular Saturday no different from any other. My mother had sent me to the market to pick up food—a loaf of bread, two fish from the local seamen, and some potatoes. I was tired after a long week’s work, and wanted to enjoy the scenery before going back home and doing my nightly chores

So I chose to take the long way home from the market, along the river, through town. Little did I know the bone chilling adventure that this path would take me on . . .

I was enjoying the peaceful afternoon air while walking through town when I came upon the house of an elderly man I knew. He was far wealthier than me, but kindly too.

I had run into him at the market a few weeks prior. My father passed away last spring, leaving mother and I all alone to tend to the farm. We had a rough winter, and didn’t have enough to cover our usual food. The elderly man saw me standing at the counter, counting every coin, sweat dripping down my neck. He gently approached me and offered to help. At first I was hesitant, Mother didn’t like to take handouts from strangers, but there was something in the man’s ice blue eyes. An intensity, yet a soft kindness that persuaded me.

I took the man’s offer and thanked him. From then on, I would often wave to the kind old man when he was around town and occasionally stop by for lunch. One night I was on my way home from the market and I happened to pass by his house. “Perhaps I should stop by and check on him, kill some more time. I wouldn’t want to give him a fright this late though”, I said to myself as I saw the sun setting behind the clouds in the distance. But something in me told me I should go see him, almost an instinct…

AS I approached the man’s house, I saw a soft light leaking through the window. “Oh, he must still be awake”, I thought.

I peered through his window to see where the soft light was coming from, but I didn’t see him, there was another man in his house. “A robber?” I wondered, a bit scared. But the stranger walked calmly and stealthily through the house. He never stopped to examine the man’s gold or money or fancy possessions.

It was getting late, and mother was going to be furious with me. But something in me was almost mesmerized by the soft glow of the candle as it moved ever so slowly through the dark. It flickered beautifully, as if it were dancing, but underneath its beauty and grace there was something much darker. And I found myself unable to peel away my curious eyes. Time seemed to slow, the candle was smaller now, as time had passed, and it had grown practically pitch black. The only sound I could hear was the sound of my own breath, deep yet shaky.

I had been there watching for what seemed like mere minutes, but the sharp crescent moon in the inky black night suggested hours had passed. Then the strange man began ever so slowly creeping towards the elderly man’s room.

If I hadn’t witnessed the man grab the lantern, he might have faded into the night. His movements were so slow and measured I wondered if he was even moving at all.

Filled with insatiable curiosity and anxiety, I couldn’t bring myself to leave. “Should I wake the old man? Does he know the stranger?” The stranger began to open the door ever so slightly and angled the light at the elderly man. His footsteps were light, which was unsurprising given his meager stature. As he crept closer and closer towards the sweet old man, I wondered with fear, “What was he doing?”

As he bent down holding the lamp, I caught a glimpse of the man’s face in the dim glow. The sharp, mad smile painted across his lips sent shivers down my spine. His hair was messy and tangled, as if he hadn’t slept for days. His suit appeared expensive, yet frayed and as though he hadn’t changed out of it in weeks. With his free hand clamped into a tight fist, it seemed as if he might shatter his own bones had it been any tighter.

Something deep in my gut shifted, what had been curiosity turned to fear. I felt as if I were frozen in an inner debate what to do. However, my spiraling UHF’s were interrupted by a sudden movement by the stranger.

He suddenly sprinted towards the old man and flung open the door, foaming at the mouth!

The old man let out a horrible shriek! I cupped my mouth in fear. The intruder was rabid! He flipped the bed onto the man, then grabbed the pillows and began violently piling them on top.

Now I could no longer hear my own breath, all I could hear was my heartbeat pounding in my ears. Bud dump, bud dump, bud dump . . . What do I do? Is he . . . ?My mind was racing.

I grabbed the grocery bags and ran through the darkness, finding my way to the street. By the gentle glow of the street lamps I made my way to a nearby telephone booth.

My whole body shook with fear and adrenaline. I could barely wrap my hands around the phone to lift it to my ear. I shakily dialed the police station. “Hello?” The voice said. I left a silent void, trying to find the words.

Then it dawned on me. What if he saw? What if the man saw me!? If he did, surely he’d know I was the one who called the police and tipped them off? But I knew the old man deserved justice. “13 Vulture Drive… hurry…There was a scream.”

After the words escaped my throat, the phone slipped from my shaking hands, and a sense of utter fear filled my body. Tears streamed down my face as I picked up the bags and dashed home.

Every turn had a dark corner where I saw the man’s wild smile as he flung open that door. Every dim light reminded me of the soft glow of his lamp. Every star in the sky was the glint in his eye when he murdered the poor old man.

I feared he lurked everywhere. What if he knew!? What if he was waiting? I ran hard, adrenaline pumping through me, and the booming of my heart beat filling my ears and shaking my body.

I ran straight . . .

Home! Finally! I thought as I turned onto my street. I sprinted to the door, fumbling to find the key under the stone and I bumped my head against the hard wooden door, surprised when it opened on its own . . .

“Mother? Mother? . . . I’m sorry I’m late. Mother?” I walked in the house . . .empty.

I dashed up to my room. “No! No! This can’t be real!” I wished it all to be a mere night terror. “Please let me wake up! Please.” But my pleading got cut off by a knock.

So light I couldn’t tell if I had only imagined it.

Then again knock, knock.

My heart beat seized my whole body now. BUD DUMP! BUD DUMP! BUD DUMP!

Surely the whole world could hear it pounding!

This was it! He was here! He knew!

Again I heard it KNOCK, knock! It was stronger, more violent this time! The knocking persisted

KNOCK, KNOCK!

KNOCK, KNOCK!!!

Then the knocking seemed to fade away, and all I could hear was the pounding of my own heart…