The Man in the Window

I made out a hunched figure swaying strangely in the night.

He had twiggy fingers and a misshapen torso.

I squinted my eyes repeatedly to try and get a better look at him.

I couldn’t.

He remained seated on my window waiting.

Waiting…

What is he waiting for? What does he want?

I violently shook my head and slammed my curtains together in front of him

But having him out of sight didn’t assuage my fears

It didn’t relax me

It frightened me more.

Is he still there? Is he still staring at my window waiting for the perfect moment to steal me away into the night?

I ran back into bed to shield myself under my covers.

I sat there for a few minutes, collecting my thoughts, but one thought consumed me; Is the man in the window still there?

Has he moved?

Is he in my room?

I mustered up all of my remaining courage and ripped off my blankets as I beelined towards the window.

“What do you want with me?” I yelled

No response.

“What do you want!?”

Nothing. Not even a whisper.

I slowly pressed my ear against the curtains of my window hoping to hear a response

Nothing.

“I said, what do you want!!”

I moved my ear under the curtain, so it was pressed firmly against the glass.

I sat there for a minute, like a complete fool, waiting for some sort of noise.

Nothing.

In defeat I retreated back to my bed and placed my hand against my rapidly beating heart.

Did I imagine him?

Am I going crazy?

Is he still behind the curtain?

I lay there for hours feeling my heart beat aggressively as if it was trying to escape its rib cage prison.

Is the man still there? Is he just waiting for the perfect moment to grab me and kill me?

My left arm ached as I reluctantly made my way back over towards the window.

I was now sweating profusely and experiencing severe pain in my ribs.

I turned away from the window and walked over towards my dresser to find some Advil.

“Christ where are the damn things?” I muttered as I ripped contents out of my drawer.

Finally, I found a bottle and immediately swallowed 4 of the pills.

Clutching my chest, I made my way back over towards the window.

“What do you want!?” “I know you’re still here!”

He said nothing.

Sweat was now pouring down my face onto my shirt, and my chest felt like it was on fire.

“Who are you!?”

With his stubborn silence, I decided to try and rip away the curtains and face him man to man.

I grabbed the curtains, but suddenly fell to the floor as I was about to rip them away.

My chest was now in unbearable pain, and my eyes began to roll back into my head.

As I took my last breaths I heard the loud shattering of glass where my window was

And next to my tremoring body fell a large tree branch.

I laughed like a mad man until my heart beat its final time.