The Things That Go Thump In The Night

“Thump!”

In absolute darkness I woke and slowly opened my eyes and blinked softly. Something unknown had roused my subconscious and (now) had my full attention. The red glow of the digital clock read 2:37.  I lied motionless; without exhaling and eavesdropped on the night but was rewarded with only the comforting hum of the ceiling fan and my wife’s soft breathing. With eyes now adjusted to the chestnut shadows of darkness within the room; I exhaled and quietly studied the silhouette of her hair and facial features and was immediately reassured by her presence. I relaxed a little.  “Thump!” The sound came from the other side of our bedroom door and jerked me upright.  Without hesitation; adrenaline dripping on my heart, I got up and went to the door to face whatever was beyond it. I opened the door and was greeted with a dense darkness and quickly felt for and turned on the hallway light. My impulse, as a father and protector, was to first ensure that no one had broken in so I bullishly walked down the stairs, first checking the front door and then walking through the kitchen, living room and then the game room. I checked each of the back entrances and paused momentarily to scan the backyard which was beautifully and calmly incandescently illuminated by the blue glow of our lit swimming pool. I took a deep breath and felt reassured but for safe measure...I checked the bathroom and laundry room.  Nothing…the house was fortified.  I admit, it had been a slight over reaction, on my part, but the thoroughness of my security sweep made me feel better and so all was now well in my world. I went back into the kitchen amid the dim radiance of the microwave, opened the refrigerator door and took a long pull from a gallon jug of chocolate milk. “Thump!”"What the...?"

This time the noise had come from the second floor and I was back up those stairs and in the hallway within seconds. I first checked on my nine year old son, Hayden. He was sound asleep but awkwardly positioned so I tucked him in and kissed him on the forehead. I then checked on my middle school son and then my high school daughter; both were lost in heavy slumber. I closed each of their doors confused as to where that alien sound had come from but then shrugged the nervous feeling off, once again, knowing that my family was safe from harm…I checked the bathrooms and hallway closets just to be sure.  I went back to my bedroom, shut the door and laid in bed upright with pillows stacked behind me. I stared at my bedroom door.  Admittedly, the child in me waited and listened much longer than a grown man should. The kids were safe, the house was secured but the child in me waited and listened…

As a boy I felt comforted by the large butcher knife that I hid beneath my pillow each night. Often, left on our own, it brought me a sense of security as my sister and I slept in our bunk beds...me on the top and her on the bottom. When something would thump or go bump in the night I would grab for it, sit up and hold it in front of me to ward off the "would be" monsters that crept in the darkness and there were many....real and imagined. On this particular night I was awakened by a clumsy thump on our bedroom door; I was nine. I sat up, groggily, amid the shadows of obscurity in complete silence and instinctively grabbed the security of the knife and with great trepidation watched as the gold painted door knob of my bedroom door slowly twisted counter clockwise. My sister and I were supposed to be alone…I had locked the apartment doors myself...didn't I? I held my breath, swallowed hard and watched with widened eyes as the door creaked opened ever so slightly. I couldn’t see entirely what was behind the door but what I did see was a pair of strange dark eyes revealed only in the shadows and they were fixated intently, not on me, but on my sister. Those eyes gazed upon her with laser focus and I could hear his haunting weighty breath in the stillness of night and I began to silently quake with fear but gripped that knife firmly in front of me; full of false childish resolve. 

The breathing was long and tempered. Whoever was behind that door hadn’t noticed me yet but soon would. The door inched opened further…and then suddenly stopped. The air ceased and fled from my lungs as our eyes met in the dark.  Although I couldn't know for sure who the man was, (I had my suspicions) his sinister eyes peered deep into mine, seemingly through me but then shifted his attention to the silver shine of the large butcher knife gripped in my small hand. I couldn't speak, my body betrayed me and shook and my teeth clenched tightly as I tried to fight through the fear that was festering within me which was now compounded by this inconceivable deadlock which seemed eternal but in reality lasted only seconds. And then, the unexpected...the door slowly retreated and inched backwards; with those eyes disappearing behind it, I watched as the door knob twisted clockwise and clicked shut. The creak of silent footsteps then disappeared down the small hallway, down the stairs and out of apartment 15-5. With butcher knife in hand, panting breath and adrenaline filling my blood stream I scooted my little body against the wall, held back a flood of tears and stared, unblinkingly, at the door. I waited and listened intently and heard nothing except for the comfortable heavy slumber of my little sister...

With weighty eyes and the wisp of that memory fading from my consciousness I began to drift off to sleep when something thumped at my bedroom door. I sat up as the knob began to turn and the door opened slowly. I stood up and then found myself taking a quick knee as I met Hayden at the entrance. “Hey? What’s wrong buddy?” I whispered. He rubbed his eyes; wiping tears. “I had a bad dream.” He said and fell into me. I wrapped my arms around him and felt his heart racing against mine. “Oh, that’s ok. Don’t be scared. Daddy's got you.” I assured him, lifted him up and laid him down next to me and my wife.  He groggily nestled his little face into my prickly unshaven neck and instantly fell back asleep. I took in a long, deep fatherly breath of his earthly musk and gardenias scented hair and slumbered unhurriedly to the hymnal steady tempo of both our hearts…Oh, how sweet...the things that go thump in the night.

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I am the author of the wildly unsuccessful NON best selling book : ) A Walk with Prudence -Practical Thoughts of Wisdom for Everyday Living

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