I Am Not Afraid (a novel) Chapter One

Began writing on April 9th, 2011

Chapter One

First Visit

           

The first time I saw him, I was nine years old.

            My sister had had a bad dream, and asked me to come sleep with her. Our parents were gone for the weekend, and out brother’s girlfriend had come over at eight and they hadn’t come out of his room since.

            I was only two years older than her, but I guess when you’re scared any kind of company is better than none.

            She had come into my room at about midnight, shaking me awake. I had followed her blearily into her room, crawled under the covers, and promptly fell asleep again.

            I woke up at three a.m., and to this day I can’t really remember why. There was no loud noise, no bad dream, and no sudden movements. I just opened my eyes and there he was, standing at the foot of the bed.

Somewhere Between Winter and Spring (a long poem, unfinished)

Somewhere Between Winter and Spring

The rain on the windows did pelt

And thunder crashed overhead

On that dreary cold night

Somewhere between winter and spring

The streets running with snowmelt

And mud crawling with suffocated worms

I lay with covers pulled up to my head

Wide awake, filled with fright

I remember a bright lighting flash

Streaming into the glass pane

Temporarily burning my sight

And upon which it did clear

I realized in this room I was not alone

He was a tall, leering shadow

The doom of his arrival

Accented by an earsplitting thunder crash

To my bedside he began to draw near

I wanted to ask him who he was

Wanted to throw my head back and scream

But my throat was dry, my tongue too thick

My voice sewn shut with fear’s seam

I wanted to race out the door

Out into the lawn that was rain-slick

Yet my legs were numb

Seemingly rooted to the mattress forevermore