Writer's Notebook

Friedlinde woke up with a start. She was sure she heard a noise. She listened to the silence which answered back in customary fashion. Then a small shufffle of feet and heart lept. She reached across to her husband - no one, there. Relief overwhelmed her. It was only Dieter. He must be having another of those bad nights. She closed her eyes and the longed for sleep started to slowly creep over her. Hopeful, it would not be one of those stop-start fretful nights. She often had them when Dieter was away. A W A Y !!! She sat right up her heart pounding. Everything was quiet now. But she was convinced, she had heard a noise and no matter how often she told herself it was only imagination, she knew there was someone in the flat.

She got up, put on her dressing gown and armed with a fairly ineffectual candlestick opened the door to her bedroom. A light was on in the lounge. A shadow fell through the glass doorpanes. If only she could get into their study without the intruder noticing, she could phone 999. If she breathed heavily enough into the phone, maybe the police would become suspicious and send someone round. Three times she lifted her foot, she even saw it lifting itself off the ground, and yet she remained firmly rooted to the spot. Then the shadow got larger and suddenly the door opened. Friedlinde let out a piercing scream and threw the candlestick with all her might, before falling limply to the floor.


There was laughter all round the next morning as Friedlinde shared a welcome breakfast with Dieter and her son, Matthew. He had come home the night before. It was a flying visit for her 50th birthday. As usual he had taken the milk train down through the borders and let himself in with his key. He had gone into the lounge to prepare a birthday surprise for his mother and was just about to turn in when all hell was let loose.

That was what they were laughing over now. Dieter had come home from the night shift a half hour earlier and brought fresh rolls and croissants. Slowly, the colour was beginning to come back to his wife's cheeks. With a smirk on his face he placed his present in her lap.
"I thought we needed some new ones. Obviously, you agree."

Intrigued, Friedlinde unwrapped a pair of beautiful candlesticks, the tears rolling down her face.

This weeks Sunday Scribblings prompt was goosebumps. You'll find more things going bump in the night here.