Living alone has its benefits, but it sure as hell has its downsides.
I awoke to a chilling breeze, unending the small, light trinkets around my room with cacophonous clatter.
Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, my groggy mind became clouded in confusion.
Who opened that window?
Slipping on my bathrobe, I begrudgingly trudged to the window. With difficulty, it shut, one last gust of frigid wind slipping through.
“…”
My brow furrowed. I could’ve sworn I heard something?
Goosebumps spread like wildfire, my hair on end. The breeze was brisk, but this chill was too biting, too cold to match the wind.
Barren branches drummed the walls, resurfacing melancholic memories of my dearly departed pets. No longer did they scratch at the door, beckoning me from my slumber to tend to their needs.
With watery eyes, I gazed across the hills.
“What in the…?” I muttered, squinting as I focused my sight.
Rubbing remnants of sleep from my eyes, I gulped. The figure I had seen had vanished.
Your eyes are playing tricks. Ignore it.
I pulled my robe tight, savoring the warm reprieve it offered. What comfort it provided quickly disappeared as I entered the kitchen.
With a reserved pace, I wound across the countertops. They were all gone.
My toaster, my coffee maker, my damned refrigerator. Gone.
A stubborn soul, I began scouring each nook and cranny.
“c… you…” a gust of wind blasted through my house. Like a pianist sequentially sliding a finger from one end of their keys to the other, one by one I hear crashes and clangs.
I watched the windows over my missing sink slowly slide open, then violently slam shut.
Cold, wet air huffed against the back of my neck. My heart hammered against my chest.
“curse… you…” the wind whispered.
I swear I heard those words. I swear!
Not willing to test fate, I made for the front door. Sliding my worn out boots on, I reached for the door.
“Shit!”
How hadn’t I noticed it sooner?
There was no door. The wall was seamlessly blended, as if no door had ever existed.
Reaching around provided no results. My hand passed through empty air and smooth, gray wall.
“Huu… huu… huu…” wicked wind wound around my throat. I found my lungs tightening, challenging my ability to breathe.
“Calm down,” I said to myself, though that did little good. Shallow breath in my lungs, I made for the back door.
Gone.
The wind howled a wicked, twisted laughter.
It’s mocking me. It’s playing with me. What will happen when it gets bored? These thoughts left my mouth dry and heart racing.
A wave of chill washed over me, my shallow breathing turning to steam. Shivering, I realized with terror that it was losing interest.
“What do you want?!” I cried out, frantically, desperately grasping for anything to cling onto.
The temperature dropped at least ten degrees, my robe providing little warmth.
Teeth chattering, legs trembling, I dashed to the closest window.
I pried it open with as much might as I could muster. It would not budge.
Just as my fingers came close to breaking, I caught something from the corner of my eye.
It was looming overhead, staring at me. Floating and upside down, their expressionless face teetered between curious and unamused.
“Wha… what do you… want?” I choked, tears threatening to trickle out. Collapsing to my knees, I put my hands together, begging.
“Ha… haa… haaa…” the wind wheezed, a raspy, sickly sound.
Looking up, it had disappeared.
The windows are slowly disappearing and I keep seeing it out of the corner of my eye.
It gets closer each time.