Anxiety.

He was not alone in his home tonight. He did not know how he knew, but he knew. There was a rhythmic knocking at the door, a crunching of gravel in the backyard, and there was definitely footsteps down the hallway when his back was turned. Wandering through the house, he searched in all the places he could think of where someone could hide, all the while convincing himself that there was definitely someone somewhere. Why they were there was a mystery, but that they were there was a solid fact.

The shadows danced as they always do when he moved down the hallway, adding an air of mystery to an already confounding situation. Searching from room-to-room, always aware of the eyes that could be watching, he prepared for the encounter that was coming. Peeling back the curtains and looking outside to find nothing, he moved to the closets and then to the cupboards to catch those that were maybe, what... contortionists? This whole endeavor started to look silly when that thought crossed his mind, BUT NO! He’ll find who he is looking for. One last place was left: the attic.

Ascending the stairs, he braced for the inevitable encounter with whoever was there. Having searched the whole house he was sure that this was the only place left that someone could possibly be hiding. Moving quickly, he threw the door open, hands at the ready to do what is necessary to defend his home and person… but nobody was there. The faintest thought of the slightest possibility that there may not be someone in the home with him crept through the back of his mind as he stood alone in his dark attic. As quickly as the thought took root, a noise in the kitchen! Bracing himself for the inevitable encounter he knew was about to happen, he ran from the attic and back into the darkness of his home. He knows he isn’t alone in his home tonight, he just needs to find where they are hiding.