The following is a piece I wrote for a creative writing class I am taking. If you're interested, I highly recommend it!
The Window
Lightning bites the night with a quick snarl that startles the soul. A
crack of thunder vibrates against the glass pane into black velvet nothingness.
Ally looks up from her math book, waiting for another flash to punctuate the
dark sky.
The phone rings. “Hello?”
“Hey, sweetie. You okay? I’m stuck at the restaurant for another hour
which I guess is a good thing since this weather is--” Click.
She tries calling her mom back but it
goes straight to voicemail.
“Figures, storms.” Ally shakes her head and turns the TV back on,
pulling the quilted throw over her bent knees. There’s not much on at 7 pm but
Ally has to finish her homework, anyway. An old sitcom plays in the background,
mixing with the sound of rain, as she jots down some notes.
BOOM! Another bright flash
lights up the window through the sheer beige curtain. Ally jumps this time, her
papers scattering onto the floor.
“Geez,” she mutters, bending to pick everything up, placing it in a neat
stack on the coffee table next to her.
A small calico steps onto her lap from the other end of the couch.
“Mrrrrr-ow?”
“Yes, Clarice, I’m okay. What a night, huh?” She pets the cat between
her ears to soothe her. “Where are your brothers? Probably outside getting
soaked.”
Ally gently places Clarice back in her original spot and pushes herself
up to go look for the other two cats. Hannibal and Billy love hanging out on
the screened-in porch, no matter the weather.
As she approaches the back door, another crrrrraaack of lightning reverberates through the house, stopping
Ally in her tracks. The electricity goes off, leaving her standing in the pitch
black kitchen. A small scratching sound interrupts the steady rhythm of rain.
Ally whips her head around in the darkness toward the sound. Screech, screech, screeeech. Her heart
is pounding wildly in her chest. She never noticed how dark her house could get
with no lights, no TV, not even the friendly hallway nightlight. Screech, screech, screeeech. The sound
seems to be coming from the living room but it’s hard to pinpoint with the rain
pattering down hard on the roof.
“Cla-rice? Here kitty kitty,” Ally nervously calls out, her voice uneven
and shaky.
“Mrrrr-ow” Something furry rubs against Ally’s leg. She lets out a small
sigh and scoops up her cat. The warm calico purrs against her chest.
Ally slowly navigates the darkness toward the living room. Screech, screech, screech, screech,
screeeeeech. The sound is becoming louder and more urgent.
Screech, screech, scree—BOOM!
The flash lights up the entire living room. Clarice springs off of Ally and
hides under a table. Ally jumps onto the couch and hides under the quilt. This
latest clap of thunder was louder than the previous ones.
After catching her breath, Ally slowly rises up onto her knees and
carefully pulls the curtain aside to look out the window. The rainy darkness
makes it difficult to see anything. She reluctantly draws closer to the window,
cupping her hands to look out.
Two wet faces are peering back at her.
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