Outwitting Darkness

My breath quickens, fogging up in front of me like a tiny ghost calling for attention. My feet on the sodden spring path splash mud on my exposed legs. I glance back, hoping to avoid seeing some spectral image coming out of the darkened shed I just exited. The shadows dance around me, swaying to a tune only they can hear. Ahead, I can see the light of the house winking through the dark trees; I wish that I didn’t have to pass through their limbs, creaking in the wind. They reach out to me, as if to beg me to ease their aching arms. I refuse, hurrying ahead through the patches of the dead, clinging weeds at my feet. The moon has chosen this night to hide itself away and I can barely see as I stumble up the barren stretch of dry ground between me and safety. It may simply be the wild workings of my imagination, but I’m sure I hear something rustle in the lilac bushes surrounding my house--right next to the portal to safety. Fraidy-cat that I am, I detour to a side door because I would rather bungee-jump off a skyscraper than brave the danger of an unknown assailant. I quietly make my way around the house as fast as I dare in the dark, all the while my gut roiling with irrational fear. If impulse got the best of me and I were to sprint like I want to right now, I would probably run straight into a wall.                                          Finally, after what seems like an eternity to my terrified mind, I reach the door. For some strange reason I associate this door with lemonade, laughing children, car keys, and at the moment, the means of my wellbeing. Without hesitating a second, nearly bulldozing the door over with my face and wrenching off the handle— I panic to find that it is locked.                                          Merciful heavens.                                                                                               Groaning, I consider climbing through a window instead of having to go back and face whatever is waiting for me. Only, if I did, Mom would likely mistake me for a burglar and try to blast my head off.                                                                                                         A chill creeps up my spine as I start my way back around. I hate turning my back to the woods. You never know what might slink up behind you. Yet, in this case, I have no choice; my whole house is surrounded by trees, and in the dark it is the most chilling thing I have yet to experience.                                                                                     I don’t fear the dark; I fear what couldin the dark. People say that the woods at night are hardly different than in the day, but I don’t care. If I can’t see what surrounds me, I will always be afraid of something- or someone -coming up behind me before I can defend myself.      

  I dread every step I take, afraid that at any moment I will step on something alive. I really hope Mom hasn’t forgotten that I’m still out here and locked the back door too! That did happen once. I stood in the dark shivering for ten minutes before anyone heard me knocking. 

 I can’t believe I didn’t take a flashlight with me before I left the house! I swear I would forget to bring my head to school every day if it wasn’t screwed to my neck.

Out of the darkness behind me I hear the sound of footsteps crunching over the dry grass. Everything I ever learned about self-defense has vanished from my mind, replaced by a dreadful fear. All I can think of doing is running, but the chances of outrunning someone who may be bigger than me are pretty slim. Yet, despite my horror, I can’t seem to make my legs move! Instead, I stand listening to them come closer.                                                                      Crunch, crunch… crunch                                                                           There is a corner between me and my anonymous foe. I still have a chance to make it to the back door, so I gather every ounce of will and charge on. Now the rustle in the bushes is the least of my concerns. If this door is locked too… I’m a goner!                        The continued swish, creak, and groan of the trees serves as background music for my wildly pounding heart. My hand stretches out to touch the yellow siding of the house. I want to be certain I’m actually getting there.                                                    With renewed determination, I approach the door once again. I don’t know what was in the lilacs, but if it’s still there it’s gonna get a piece of me if it tries to attack me. (Probably literally.) I don’t have time to be afraid of it anymore, now that I have a much worse adversary on my tail.                

I can’t delay any longer. Lightning fast, and with loud, anxious breaths, I jump the three steps to the door. I think my would-be bush assailant has gone, because I’m still alive. As I turn the knob, my heart flips. I almost think that this door is locked too, but it is only the familiar catch that has always been there. Flinging the door open, I barely stop myself from slamming it shut again behind me, and I lock it as quick as a blink. The change in atmosphere is so abrupt that it takes me a moment to readjust.                                      I am finally safe inside my house. I can hear the usual murmur of the TV program Dad is watching, and the aroma of tonight’s dinner still lingers in the air. My racing pulse settles, the goosebumps on my arms fade away, and I finally relax my nervous body. Had there really been anything following me? Surely it was not my imagination! I look out the window, but nothing is there, and I realize that I hadn’t heard any pursuit once I started running. Maybe it wasn’t a person after all, but only a large animal. The faster I calm down, the more and more I’m convinced that it wasn’t some creep out there who wanted to kidnap me. Whatever it was, I learned a lesson. No matter how safe you think you are, always go out at night with a flashlight... and be prepared to run for your life.   I can just imagine the victorious, uplifting music coming on at this moment--the kind in movies when the heroine stands atop a hill with the sun coming over the horizon and the wind whipping through her hair. That’s exactly how I feel. Who knew that journeying to coop up the chickens and back could be so exciting? Again, I have defeated the darkness bent on destroying me.                   Until tomorrow night.