The Umbrella

My daughter Heather had friends over that day. It had been a long weekend, I had to run off her boyfriend, it was considered a school night on Sundays at my house. Finally a quiet house. I had to get up early for work. Be there at 6:00am, pick my son up from his grandmothers and take him back home to catch the bus. I should have done that, but they were off doing something. And I had to get all those teenagers out of my house. Therefore, I just decided to do it in the morning.

Asleep I was awakened by a sound, I, am a light sleeper. I heard it again. It sounded like a ladder creaking on the side of a house. I listened harder to place the sound. Is that a ladder? I thought that it might be Heather on the phone again. I had caught her once already on it. I turned over, and when I did, I heard the sound again I opened my eyes. I saw a shadow.

It looked like an umbrella shape. I stared at it. Is that an umbrella? Did the wind blow an umbrella against the house? Is the wind blowing that hard? I looked past the umbrella where a space in the corner of the window I could see if the trees were blowing. No the wind did not look like it was blowing at all. I looked deeper into the shadow. An umbrella? A shade darker shadow? Is that the shape of a head behind the umbrella? I stared at it for what seemed like forever. A head shape, now I was wide-awake. I heard that slight sound of a ladder again, that it was adjusting to weight. I am confused, bewildered.

Would Heathers boyfriend not know where Heathers was? I said "Goodbye" to the shadow. The shadow lowered the ladder creaked. I jumped out of bed and ran to the living room to get the phone. NO PHONE! I followed the phone cord into Heathers room, frantic I whisper very loud "Heather where is the phone?!"

"Mom what's the matter?"

"I saw someone in my window!" I called, my sister not the police; she lives next door with her husband. My brother is staying there; he has just got home out of the service. My brother-in-law answers and I tell him someone was looking in my window. He says "when?"

"Now, JUST NOW!" He told me to hold on.

Heather starts to run toward the front door. I yell, "Don't go out there!"

Then I hear a gunshot and a yelp. We run out the door, we see my brother and an umbrella in the middle of the road.

True story