He woke me up, snoring again. I just didn’t want to fight or deal with it, so I moved out to the couch. Sometimes that was kind of nice anyway; house was quiet, front window showing the front street, blanketed in fresh snow. The plows wouldn’t be by for a while, until then the wind whistled past, rattling the glass in the window frames. It was strangely soothing. Curling up on the couch, under a throw blanket, with my little dog at my feet, I dozed off, watching the empty street in the shadows under the moon.
I wasn’t sure at first what woke me up that second time. It wasn’t the cold; I was snuggled deep under the blanket. It was my dog, Opie – a small terrier cross, he wasn’t generally a ferocious creature, but was a welcome foot-warmer on a chilly night. He had woken me, with a somewhat low growly whine I had never heard before.
“Shhh, sweetie, shhhh.” I reached down and scratched him gently. I thought maybe a bad dream had scared him. Opie quieted, although I could feel him, tense, under my fingertips.
Odd.
It was a movement that caught my eye. Something moving out on the front street, or rather, someone out on the front street, walking down the other side of the street, where the sidewalk would be. It was a bit of an unusual sight, but not extremely weird, nothing that could explain the goosebumps I felt run up my body.
Nothing that could explain why I felt the need to be sneaky about observing this figure on the street, and yet, I stayed curled up and tucked the blanket around my face, so I could peek through my loose fingers and blanket. I don’t know why it was important, but I didn’t want anyone know that I was watching. Truthfully, I didn’t want this person to know I was watching them.
As I watched, the figure leaned toward the neighbor’s house across the street, as if they just wanted to get a better look.
To my horror, the figure slowly stretched and lengthened until their face was at the window, arcing over the snowy yard. There was a pause, and with a blink, the image was one again normal.
Had I really just seen what I thought I had seen?
The thought had only just crossed my mind, when I realized the person (was it a person?) was now crossing the street, heading toward my house.
I worried my dog would bark, but I realized he was shaking under my hand, he was as scared as I was.
I forced my breathing to remain calm, the dog also got really still, the terror surrounded us as we both tried hard not to move even a muscle, while still appearing relaxed.
The man stopped on my sidewalk and seemed to look toward the window, only a few feet from my face.
Once again I saw the stretch as the face leaned impossibly toward the glass.
I closed my eyes.
If I could just convince this thing I was sleeping I would be safe.
With horror, I felt my own mind trying to betray me, willing me to just take a peek. Just a peek. How could it hurt?
I couldn’t help it, I had to know.
Carefully, I opened one eye and peered through my lashes. Had I imagined it all?
There was nothing, no face at the window. I opened my eyes a little wider, still not moving much, still not sitting up.
My moment of relief was fleeting; he was still there, standing at the sidewalk. I could see him, even though I was doing my absolute best to pretend to be asleep.
The thing held up his hand and wagged a finger at me. As if to shame me.
Naughty girl, it was telling me.
Then it crouched low and sprang across the snow, landing with almost no sound on the window, somehow sticking there, peering in at me. Using on hand, he started running his fingers down the glass, leaving a streaky moisture.
My eyes opened wide now, I couldn’t help it, I wanted to scream. I felt the scream welling up when it brought its hand to its lips. I couldn’t hear it over the wind, but I knew what it meant.
“Shhhh.”
Like a child now, I closed my eyes tightly. What I couldn’t see wouldn’t hurt me - hiding from the monster at my window. I waited for the sound of glass breaking, for something to happen.
Nothing. Then the faint beep-beep-beep of a truck backing, and the familiar machinery whirl of a plow. The street lit up with the lights as the crews began the work of clearing my street.
I opened my eyes, it was gone. There was nothing at the window, nothing on the street. The dog was lying calmly on my feet. At first, I thought it had been a dream, perhaps some sort of hallucination. I considered all of the articles I had read on sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming. I chuckled a bit to myself. What a crazy dream.
Except…
the streaky, wet finger marks were frosting up on the outside of my windowpane.