I’ll never tell them, but I think it’s time to tell someone. Tell someone about this terrifying experience.
For context, my family, save for me, was going to go to a family reunion tonight at a friends house.
I’m not surprised they let me stay home. I was probably the tidiest person in the house, (second to only my dad) even if it was only on impulse. It was the middle of summer and pollen was pretty much everywhere, so I wasn’t in the mood to go outside and have a stuffy nose in the morning.
Before they left, Mom told me to stay inside and lock the doors after dark, and only go outside if there was something that needed doing. (along with a comment about how hot it was outside)
I didn’t argue, and went back inside.
After they were gone, the house was pretty much mine.
I turned on the television, and searched for something interesting to do.
There was a channel with home design ideas, which wasn’t what I was really interested in, but it was interesting to watch it anyway.
I watched shows about remodeling bathrooms, bedrooms, and kitchens.
I had nothing that interested me except the television, and while I got a new video game console for my birthday, we didn’t get a chance to buy any actual games for it.
I walked into the kitchen, and started to look for something to eat.
I was thinking about what I wanted for dinner, but there wasn’t anything. Then again, I wasn’t that hungry. The sun quickly set, and it was getting late, so I decided to close all of the blinds.
I always closed them as soon as the sun went down, mainly out of habit.
I put a blanket and a few pillows onto the couch, and went to turn off all of the lights, except for the kitchen light. That way I wouldn’t wake up completely confused about my whereabouts, if I woke up in the middle of the night.
Funnily enough, that’s exactly what happened. I fell off the couch, and ended up bruising my side. I got up, and got back on the couch. There was a loud rapping at the back door, and I flinched.
I looked at the clock, and saw that it was only nine, and there was no way they were back already. I went to use the bathroom, and when I got back to the living room, I saw a silhouette of a man standing outside the glass doors. I hid behind the side of the couch, terrified. I could barely see him grabbing the doorknob.
Just then, the most primordial fear hit me with full force.
I left the back door unlocked. There was nothing I could do.
The doorknob twisted. The door swerved open. I was finally able to see him. Black, beady eyes. A head covered in white, piss-stained fur, topped with curved horns. The man had the head, and legs of a ram. My mind barely processed what was going on as he walked a few steps further into the house.
“Come outside, James.” the man said. “It’s warm out here.” He spoke in my mother’s voice.
Not a perfect imitation. In fact, It sounded like one of those videos of a macaw speaking. It wasn’t exact, but the intention was there.
And the stench. It smelled overwhelmingly like copper.
I felt tears begin to emerge from my eyes, and I covered my mouth. He stood in that same place for what must’ve been more than an hour.
“There’s something that needs doing. Come outside.”
He never spoke a single word after that. He stared at me with his beady eyes, and I felt all of the air in the room vanish. He must’ve known I was there. But he simply left through the open door.
Even after my family came back at around midnight, I didn’t feel safe. I decided not to tell any of them. There was a time and place for that, and I didn’t want them to worry.
That was years ago, and I still don’t feel safe. When I go to sleep, I swear I can feel him watching me. He’s always there in the back of my mind.
It took months for me to feel secure in my own home after that experience. I didn’t understand why I constantly felt the need to curl up into a ball, under a heavy blanket.
But then I realized what it was. Coming from the woods outside of my window, was that damn smell.