The Window
I haven’t posted in a while so I’m going to be focusing on posting shorter pieces here. I hope you enjoy!
Leslie opened her eyes to the patter of rain and the darkness of a storm. She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands and rolled out of her bed and stepped into her slippers. She needed to see.
Silence. That was the trick. That was how Leslie could watch the storm without waking her parents on a school night.
The door. Leslie argued this was the most difficult maneuver, but she was a professional. She gripped the doorknob and carefully pressed to the left as she turned her grip. As the door opened she pressed down on the knob, narrowly evading the hinge croon.
The creaky floor. Leslie had often failed the mission for forgetting which floorboards creaked and which ones croaked. Creakers were spread evenly between safe spots. She expertly stepped through the memorized pattern until she reached the Croakers.
She froze. The wait was expected. Lighting was followed by a sharp thunder. Not yet, she thought with closed eyes. She waited until a softer flash came slowly. She counted one, two, three before leaping forward to land at the Croaker center while the deep baritone thunder rolled through the house.
She made it past the danger. She knew the path forward. Safe spots lit up in her mind as she dashed under the archway into the living room. There she found her spot near the windows. Here was where the floorboards were strong and never spoke. Here was where she could sit and stare out the window as blue bolts lit up the sky.