Adventures in Moving: Last night was my first night alone in the new place, while Robin was working, down south (no, thats not a euphemism ;) ). I checked the doors - front door, locked -- back sliding-glass door, lock lever was down (I made the assumption that I had also put the pin in place). I had the thought to bring my phone to bed with me, but it needed to be charged, and I was too tired to grope for the charger, so I left it downstairs, and went up to bed. I was sound asleep, when I suddenly woke up - aware that a noise had awoken me from a dead-sleep. I suddenly had the auditory-memory of hearing an odd sound, while sleeping ... the sound of a doorknob jiggling. It had come from the landing, outside my open bedroom door. I knew that I knew that Id heard it .. it wasnt a dream, nor my imagination. I sat upright, staring onto the landing, in the dark, looking for any sort of shadowy movement - but the pile of pillows at the foot of my bed prevented me from seeing over them. I thought about calling out, whos there? but something in me felt a check against doing so. I wasnt about to go out there to investigate, so I laid back, eyes open, ears alert, body heightened, waiting for more sounds ... none. I drifted off to sleep. Some time later, the same sound woke me up again. I sat up, braced myself ... waited ... nothing. Again, I drifted off to sleep. I woke up to a third sound ... cant recall what it was. By now, Im praying the old prayers, pleading the blood of Jesus and all ... asking the Cosmic Dudes to assist me. My mind was desperate to make sense of the noises ... my heart felt fatalistically resigned to what would happen next, as I had no means of defense. A fourth time, I was awakened ... this time to the sound of a large porcelain vase, on the landing, that is filled with canes -- the sound of it moving is unmistakable. It had clearly been bumped, shaken or jostled. I was wishing I had my phone, but wasnt about to go out onto the landing, in order to go get it downstairs ... again, I laid down, asking for protection, and went to sleep at some point. A fifth time, I heard a metallic noise I couldnt discern (though it crossed my mind that perhaps the baseboard heater, in the adjoining bedroom, had clanged - they can be noisy) ... again sleep ... and then was awakened a sixth time, this time to the sound of something either in, or against, the adjoining wall, on the other side, as if brushing against it, or moving through it. I also heard dripping ... and had a flash-vision of that bloody-body-in-the-bathtub scene from The Shining. I was now thinking, There is either an intruder, a rat ... or a poltergeist (& I wasnt sure which of those I preferred). I had the feeling of anger ... as if something didnt want me there, didnt want me living there. Odd feeling, that. My former apartment was supposedly haunted, but I *never* once felt this feeling of inhospitality. My brain tried to find a rational explanation ... but nothing fit. I decided that I would sleep, and if I survived the night, I would check the heater in the morning ... look around the apartment ... and perhaps ask the neighbors or the handyman if previous tenants ever reported odd noises. I woke up, glad to be in daylight, exhausted from the interrupted night (though Id had a dream that random items had been knocked over, or moved, throughout the house)... and checked the thermostat in the other bedroom -- it was completely off - it had not been the heater. The vase looked untouched ... as I went downstairs, I noticed my purse was where it belonged, and nothing was missing. The front door was still locked. I checked the backdoor ... and to my horror, it looked locked (the lever was down), but it had not latched, nor was the pin in -- the back door had been open all night --further, the back gate was also unlatched (Robin was sure hed checked it the last time hed gone out). I grabbed my phone, and a hammer ... and went systematically through the house, looking into each and every possible hiding place ... under sinks, under beds, behind doors, in closets, behind the shower curtain (no body, just a dripping faucet)... I noticed that AS I stepped into the spare bedroom, there was an alarming scritching sound that occurred in the closet (turns out that perhaps the subfloor or the floor joists are loose, causing the sound). Robin had me check for attic panels (no such thing here). It appeared that no one had been inside ... and yet, I HAD heard those noises. Very, very unsettling. I went about my day ... let the Internet dude do his thing, got it installed and running. I took the overflowing trash out to the dumpster, and paused to meet a neighbor. She asked how I like living here (shes been here for ten years), and mentioned that its a safe neighborhood ... and then she stopped, mid-sentence, and said, however, last night my husband and I woke up to strange noises ... coming from the enclosed back yard ... so he went to sleep on the couch, to make sure no one got in. My heart skipped. I told her what Id experienced ... The only thing I can conclude, is that someone got into the house, went upstairs, and then opened doors, bumped into the vase, and stepped into the spare room, causing the sound in the closet. Perhaps they saw nothing of value ... perhaps they couldnt see me lying there, due to the pillow-pile ... perhaps they thought the place was empty (my car was in another space, as Robin had occupied the one in front of our unit). Perhaps it wouldve turned out differently, had I called out ... I may never know. I would prefer to never know. Im going to be a LOT more vigilant about security from now on ... THAT I know.
Posted on: Wed, 07 May 2014 22:21:07 +0000
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