A Normal Day--Kayla

Today was a normal day. I walked downstairs to the sweet smell of syrup and butter, and finally the view of the golden mountain of waffles stacked on a white porcelain plate surrounded by a red, flowery ring. Conversations with my mother occurred as usual,”Good morning honey! How’d you sleep?” “It was fine, but more sleep would obviously be preferred.” We both laughed as I gave her a hug and headed out the door to attend school. 

School began promptly at 8:05. Tests for calculus and biology were taken; other classes just seemed to fly by. I was excited to head home on a such a windy, gloomy day, especially with the constant alarm in my stomach begging me to eat.

It wasn’t unusual for my mother to not be home when I came home from school, she was normally home around 8 o’clock. I scavenged the kitchen for food and finally decided to head the living room to watch TV for a bit. The house was dead silent, the only true explicable noise was the scuffle of my feet across the wooden floors. Faint creeks upstairs make their way across the top floor. “Maybe it’s the wind causing the creeks, I mean this is an old house”, I think to myself. Just before I turn on the TV, I notice what looks like a grey figure crawling up beside the left of the mauve loveseat I rest on, in the black reflection of the TV screen. My heart began to beat heavily and rapidly.The creeks grow louder and suddenly cease. Within the blink of an eye, the figure is gone. 

“I’m just freaking myself out, I definitely need to stop watching all these horror movies”, I thought to myself. I searched for cartoons to calm myself down and to hopefully help get whatever I just saw off of my mind. Cartoons helped lighten the atmosphere but I just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was behind me, lurking, watching every move I made. With this thought in mind, I scurried up the stairs and slammed my bedroom door shut behind me. I stood by the door to listen for footsteps of some kind but heard nothing. I climbed into bed and fully surrounded myself with the thick black comforter detailed with red cherry blossoms. 

I turn on the TV in my bedroom to distance my mind from fear, but at a low volume to remain aware of what was to come. As i began to doze off, the creeks began faintly downstairs and became footsteps ascending the staircase. 

I hear the jingling of keys at the front door and the loud thud of the door unlock. My mother is finally home! I jump out of bed and rush to my bedroom door to gain comfort in my mother’s presence. In this act, the door begins to slowly open, a dull and grey shadow-like claw grapples around the door’s edge. One gleaming, bright red eye and a wide grin that can never be forgotten is the only view in sight. “Honey, I’m home!”, in a grim, deep voice. 

Today was not a normal day.