Walter's Window

Heaving a sigh of relief, Walter ambled to the concourse to collect his luggage. He was toting his cabin baggage. Feeling all of his 60 years, he looked weary as he ended his long haul. He had come home. The sense of jubilation also was there.

                                              As he waited for his pieces of luggage to come, he sighted his friend who had come to the airport to pick him up. He smiled broadly and called out to him.

                                            "Hey, Milton! I am here!" he waved widely till Milton saw him and started coming in his direction.

                                            "So happy to see you after six months, Walter! How have you been?" mumbled Milton, as he engulfed his friend in a bear hug.

                                            "You can see how I am, Milton. How are you all? How is Grace and how are your lovely little kids?"

                                            "All are well by God's grace. Thank you. You are going to stay with us now. No objections entertained. Let me collect all your luggage and lead you."

                                            They moved carefully with the luggage on a trolley through the milling crowd at the airport. Once they came out, Milton led them onto his parked minivan and loaded the luggage into it.

                                            "You haven't seen our new home, I think. We bought and moved into it just three months ago. You were not here at that time. It is about 20 miles from here in a quiet location. Lots of greenery around. You will love it, Walter!"

                                            "Well, I am here to see it for myself now. Lead me on."

                                            While Milton was driving the minivan, his friend did not want to distract him. They settled into a companionable silence.

                                            Both of them were childhood friends. Walter had a terrible time six months back and lost his loving wife Annie. She fought bravely with cancer and conceded at the last minute. The long period of her suffering took a heavy toll on poor Walter.

                                  Walter managed to survive due to friends like Milton and his wife Grace. Though he admired their faith in God and liked their involvement in the Church, Walter was different. He continued to be away from the Christian faith, as far as he himself was concerned. He went to France for a month-long retreat and spent a further five months in Switzerland with old friends who had invited him.

                                         Now that he is back, Milton and Grace wanted Walter to be with them for some time, till he can slowly pick up the threads of his life, a wifeless one for now. Since he was already about sixty years old, they wanted to offer him hospitality and love and care for now. They had talked about it and Walter was gracious to accept.

                                        They reached the lovely new home of Milton. As they entered the gate, Walter looked at it. "Wow! It looks gorgeous my dear Milton! How did you and Grace afford it?"

                                       "It is by the grace of the Lord, Walter. We got a wonderful offer from a dealer and jumped at it. Our families chipped in and made it affordable for us. Our mortgage is not too difficult to manage for us." said Milton as he escorted him into his home.

                                       "Welcome to our humble home, brother!" said Grace as she hugged Walter. The children piped up. "Welcome Uncle! Welcome!"

                                       Smiling, Walter hugged the children and kissed them. "You must be tired after that long haul in the flight. May be suffering from jet lag too. Please have a cup of coffee and proceed to take some rest. You can refresh yourself and come join us for a late dinner after 9. Is that okay?" asked Milton.

                                      Refreshed with coffee and love, Walter went up to his room on the first floor and relaxed. He started to unpack but grew tired. The bed was made and was enticing, so he slipped out of his shoes and tumbled into it fully dressed. He went off into a dreamless sleep.

                                      "Rat a tat, rat a tat, rat a tat." A strange rattle woke Walter up. Awakened suddenly, he opened his eyes wide and looked. "Where was this sound coming from? It sounds like someone is knocking the window over there?" he thought.

                                      Then he remembered that he was upstairs. "Who could knock or rattle his window? Wondering, he slowly went back to sleep as he was rather tired of the journey.

                                      After a while, again he heard the sound, "Rat-a-tat, rat-a-tat, rat-a-tat." Jumping up and out of bed this time, he cautiously approached the window.

                                      "Shall I open it?" he wondered as some strange fear crept into him. His bones were chilled. "What or who could be outside the window now?"

                               "Rat-a-tat, Rat-a-tat" the sound of the knocking became louder as he approached the window. He stood entranced and gazed at it. In fear. In expectation. What or who is on the other side. It was twilight, and he was in a cold sweat.

                               He dragged his hand to the latch to open the window.

                                        The next knock literally knocked him down. He recovered and lifted the latch. Then, hesitantly, he opened the window a sliver. Just a wee bit. The knocking stopped. He threw the window wide open. He peered intently at the dusk. He scanned the entire place. He found no one or nothing. Relieved, he closed the window and slowly got dressed.

                                      Coming down for dinner, he found the little family gathered around the table for their family prayer. Milton invited Walter warmly to their midst. He led the prayer. They sang a hymn,

                                   "Abide with me, fast falls the eventide.

                                    The darkness deepens,

                                 Lord with me abide.

                                   When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,

                                   Help of the helpless

                                   Oh! abide with me." 

                                   Walter remembered his childhood. His mother used to sing this hymn in their home. All his adult life, he failed to exercise his faith and had lived a godless life, basically. He remembered his mother telling him, "Till I die, I will continue to pray that you will one day see the truth and that the Lord will bless you with His salvation." And she did too. Till her death, she used to pray for him with tears, recalled Walter with tears in his eyes.

                                   Milton read a short passage from the gospels and Grace prayed for all the family members. She also prayed, "Heavenly Father, we thank you for bringing our brother Walter safely from his trips abroad. Bless his stay in our home and help him to become close to you."

                                 They all said the Lord's Prayer and ended their devotional time. Then Grace went to the kitchen to get their food. Walter still had tears forming in his eyes.

                                   "I remember the prayers of my Mom, Milton!" he managed to say.

                                   "I too remember her Walter. She was always concerned about your spiritual life."

                                   Grace came in with piping hot dishes and served everyone some delicious food. They said the grace and began their feast. "It is ages since I ate such delicious, home-cooked food. Thank you, Grace" said Milton as he ate his fill.

                                   "It is our privilege to serve you dear brother Walter," said she as she served him liberal seconds.

                                   Only after he said goodnight to all and went up the stairs did he remember the knock on the window. I hope whatever it is, it won't disturb his night's rest. He was feeling tired and wanted to rest peacefully.

                                   As he got ready and climbed into the comfortable bed, he thought of God and his eternity briefly and whispered a prayer for protection. Yet he stayed awake for an hour, expecting to hear the knock. There was no such knock. Slowly Walter drifted off to sleep.

                                   He was dreaming peacefully of his childhood days and his mom.

                                   "Rat-a-tat, Rat-a-tat"

                                   "Rat-a-tat, Rat-a-tat"

                                   The sound made him come out of his sleep. He groggily looked at the clock and found that it was 12 midnight. He woke up in a sweat. as the knocking continued, it began to increase in intensity. Shivering with fright, Walter slipped out of bed in his pajamas. He almost sleep-walked to the offending window. Taking courage, he flipped the latch and pushed the window wide open.

                                   The night was dark and deep. Dark clouds covered the moon and stars. He had slept with no lamps on. So out of that deep darkness, he found one dark being beckoning to him. As he watched goggle-eyed, this creature slithered into the room. A strange smell pervaded the room. Dumb-struck, Walter was paralyzed with fright. He could not open his mouth to ask for help. Neither could he run away, though he very much wanted to.

                                   The creature seemed diaphanous but material too. It had a sibilant voice that reminded Walter of the character of Gollum. He was mumbling his words, "Gee. Walther. Walther! I need you. Will you let me come into you?" was what Walter could make out from the words he slipped out. Reeking with a strange stench, the creature’s hands were seeking to claw Walter.

                                   Somehow, Walter managed to escape. He quickly knelt down and closed his eyes. He raised his voice and prayed. Something he had not done in decades!

                                   "O Lord, my God! Abide with me. I am helpless now. I am sorry for ignoring you all my life as it were. Remember the prayers of my mother. Please deliver me O Lord from this hideous creature. I will seek you and be your servant, the rest of my life. I repent now of all my misdeeds and sins. As it is written in your Holy Bible, please forgive me through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. I invite Him to come into my sinful heart to cleanse me. Now."

                                   As soon as he uttered his Amen, a sense of peace entered his heart. Slowly he opened his eyes and looked at the open window. There was no stench. He could only smell the lilies from the garden below. The moon had emerged from out of the clouds and was shining. There was no trace of any other creature in that room or at the window.

                                   The rest of the night, Walter slept peacefully and emerged smiling the next day. He freshened himself quickly and took a Bible from the bookshelf and read it. He knelt down and thanked God for the night. He went down for breakfast eager to share what had happened to him, with his friend's family!