Where Angels Fear to Tread | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: Where Angels Fear to Tread | Previous Challenge Entry
By Laura Manley
07/19/12
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Josie jerked her body up into a sitting position as she cautiously listened for the noise that abruptly brought her sleep to a halt. She glanced over at the clock sitting on her night stand. She had been asleep less than two hours.

The noise is in the kitchen. What do I do? Yes, I’ll go down and check it out. Maybe I didn’t hear anything at all.

She sat as still as a cat as it waits for just the right moment to attack its target before deciding her next move. If it was someone in the kitchen, she certainly wouldn’t want to alert that someone to her whereabouts. Josie tried to clear her head and think what she was going to do.

Maybe the noise wasn’t in the kitchen… maybe it’s that old shutter that needs repair.

Josie pulled her knees close to her chest as she listened to the wind howling outside her bedroom window.

When did the wind pick up? Of course, that’s it. It WAS the shutter hitting up against the house. But why then, did it sound like it was coming from the kitchen? The broken shutter is in the front of the house, and I’m just sure I heard the noise coming from the kitchen.

Josie and her husband owned a very spoiled, Siamese cat that had the run of the house. Her husband, Lucas, had been fixing a broken lamp the night before and fought Sammie in an attempt to keep him out of the lamp pieces.

That’s it! Sammie must have shuffled through the remains of the lamp that Lucas had left out on the kitchen table. Okay, so I’m not going crazy.

Satisfied that was the answer, Josie released her arms from around her knees and crawled back under the still-warm blankets. She tucked them under her chin and knew she probably looked like a mummy. She nestled herself like a baby bird into the bed which seemed to mold into her familiar form. The tired and sick girl lay there hoping for sleep to come quickly. How else would she get well?

Suddenly, there came a sound that definitely came from in the kitchen. Josie once again snapped her body up.

Well, that does it; I’m just going to go down and investigate what going on in the kitchen.

With as much bravery as a child goes to a first dental appointment with, Josie managed to place her sock-covered feet onto the hardwood floors of her bedroom. She feared her pounding heart would give her presence away. Josie was quite certain she was not alone in her two-story house.

Before reaching her bedroom door, she grabbed her bathrobe which hung close by on one of the posts of her bed. She slipped the robe on and was careful in zipping it so as to not tip off the unwelcomed visitor in the house.

Josie took a deep breath as she made her way toward the bedroom door. Her hand froze on the bedroom door knob. She remembered she had not yet oiled the squeaky door. Even so, she managed to open the door without the squeak.

Her trek down the hallway seemed endless to Josie, but she was determined to find out the reason for the noises.

Along the way, Josie picked up one of Lucas’ baseball bats out of his sports bag. It gave her a sense of security with her hands wrapped around it. She continued toward the kitchen.

Josie decided to use an element of surprise so when she got to the swinging kitchen door, she pushed it with great force and entered the room. Instead of seeing a stranger in the kitchen, she focused her eyes on her wonderful husband who was busy putting dishes into the dishwasher.

“Lucas! You scared me to death,” Josie said in a shaken voice. “Why didn’t you let me know you were home?”

“Well, I left for work this morning with the idea I would come home and clean the kitchen while you slept, but I guess I was too noisy.”

Josie shuffled over to Lucas in her worn socks and gave him a huge hug.

“I’ve just spent the last half hour worrying someone had broken into our home and all the while it was you in the kitchen planning this surprise. Now I’m going to grab a chair and sit and watch you finish your little surprise.

They simultaneously broke out in hilarious laughter.

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