The Window

The attic window was being battered by the torrent of falling rain. It overlooked the old man's garden, blossoming with late-season flowers and ripe with the season's harvest. Pumpkins swelled to great sizes and the apple trees beyond the garden filled the trees, dragging their branches nearly to the ground. The scent of the the apples mixed with the mild scent of the rain and wafted through the window, reminding me of my aunt's pie, as well as that I was thirsty and that I hadn't eaten since noon. In my nervous struggle to stay focused on reading a language I didn't understand, I had completely forgotten my hunger. My stomach rumbled. It was too late now. Crook was most likely in bed, and the maid had probably finished working by now. I continued to look out the window.

As I gazed over Crook's property, I suddenly noticed movement I did not expect. I thought it might have been a person, but wasn't entirely certain. I strained my eyes to see if they could determine what it was beyond the yard that they had seen. For a time, I did not see anything again. But my curiosity was peaked; it was obvious that Crook's collection of books was as far from typical as one could get, and I sensed a sort of insecurity in Crook's personality throughout our short conversations. I wanted to know why he behaved that way, and what his involvement was with the supernatural, for that is what I assumed his book collection was about. I was certain that midnight intruders would be connected to all of the above.

Then I saw the movement again, just beyond the apple trees. A black, humanoid shape, I guessed about six feet tall, had just taken a step toward Crook's house from the shadow of the neighboring house's eaves. I lowered myself so that I was just peeping above the edge of the window. Whoever was out there held an umbrella, but not over its head; the person was also holding a large, open book, and placing the umbrella just over it as if to protect it from getting wet in the storm. It was looking around the place, up and down the house. I became nervous, but was certain that with the moon being obscured that night that it wouldn't be able to see me through the window.

Then lightening flashed, revealing all that was obscured by the dark night. I was certain it had seen me, for as soon as the lightening had flashed, it kept staring straight at the window I was peering through. A chill crawled through me, and I ducked out of view, my breath quickening. After a few minutes, I caught my breath again. I slowly moved to peer out the window once again, my hands trembling a little as I placed them on the wall for balance.

As I looked out again, I couldn't see the figure where it had stood. I scanned the entire view, and I could find no trace of the shadowy being. I sighed with relief. I was about to lay down and go to bed when I noticed a faint warm glow coming from below the window. The source of the light was too close to the house for me to get a good angle on it, and I couldn't see what it was. After a moment, I decided to sneak down the ladders to get a look through a window that would be level with the light source.