Mary Ellen turned the key. After all night at the library, she was exhausted. She loved books. It’s what made her want to be a librarian. Her sister was the best selling thriller author.
Mary Ellen stopped. Her dishes. They had been done. She lived alone and she was single. No kids and her sister rarely visited her ever since she moved to New York.
Don’t call out hello Mary Ellen reminded herself. Her trash had been taken out and someone cooked.
“What the hell? Maybe I just did all those things,” She reasoned with herself. She didn’t believe in ghosts and even if she did, this was a fantasy novel where a ghost could easily do such a thing.
She heard what sounded like footsteps in her attic. She froze. She had no pet to blame that on and she knew there were no mice. “Okay, Mary Ellen. Your brain is tired. You- it’s near Halloween, “ She was desperate now to find any logical reason as to what was happening.
Someone tapped her on the shoulder. Mary Ellen screamed. She went to grab her phone but the intruder took it without saying a word and broke it. She was trapped now. She didn’t have a landline or an AI to call for help.
She ran to the bathroom. The intruder banged on the door. Mary Ellen covered her ears. “Think, Mary Ellen. Your sister writes about these situations every day.” She told herself.
“People think their homes are safe, but sometimes they hide the very monsters you’re afraid of. By the way Mary Ellen is a beautiful name.”
A chill went through her. He knows her name. What the hell? He has been in my home. That realization brought on another chill.
“What- what’s your name?” Mary Ellen asked, feigning the courage she did not feel.
“Where is the fun in that? It ruins the mystery, doesn’t it. “ He kicked the bathroom door open.
Mary Ellen looked at his hands. “No weapons.”
“Oh, sweetheart, I don’t need a weapon to terrify you,” He grinned.
Mary Ellen tackled him to the ground and ran outside. She had to get to safety to call for help. The stairs. She could trick him back she thought.
She turned off the lights. When he ran after her, he fell twisting his ankle.
A neighbor hearing the commotion came out. “Are you alright? I called the cops,” the friendly neighbor told her.
The cops took the phrogger away. She never found out his name and never wanted to know. This is the way she took her power back. Her home once again felt safe to her after he was locked away.
