First Annual Wild Violet
Writing Contest (2003)

Fiction — Second Place

The Night Walk
(continued)

By Linda Hudson Hoagland

I reached for my shoes, because I couldn't wear slippers. The grass and weeds would be wet and would only ruin a pair of cloth-like, lightweight slippers.

I wrapped a warm, chenille robe around me and cinched it at my waist to keep it in place.

The flashlight, where was the flashlight?

I had to have a flashlight. I wanted to be able to shine what meager light I had into every dark corner within my line of vision.

I had placed it on the nightstand when I went to bed. I knew it had been there.

I got down on my hands and knees to look under the bed.

That's probably what woke me up the first time. I must have knocked it off the nightstand when I was sleeping. When it hit the floor with a bang, that's probably when I woke up. I smiled at the logical explanation. I really was acting like a child, because I was so scared.

I reached for the flashlight and grabbed it, along with some dust bunnies that had multiplied under the bed.

I stood up and slid the switch forward to check the brightness of the flashlight.

Nothing, no light.

I banged on the flashlight a couple of times and noticed the flashing of brightness as it struggled to catch hold of the battery, forcing the illumination through the clear plastic cover over the small bulb. One more bang and the light caught hold. I slid the switch to the off position and slid it back on, just to make sure.

I opened the bedroom door slowly and peeked around the door facing, checking to see if anyone was out in the hallway. I wanted to be quiet. I didn't want to wake up Uncle Jim.

I turned no lights on in the old house. I used the flashlight as I pointed its beam to the floor, shining on the path that would lead me out of the back door.

The snap of the lock was like the sound of a gun going off in a confined area. I looked around me and saw nothing; nor did I hear anything, no movement coming from the direction of Uncle Jim's room. I took a deep breath and tugged at the doorknob.

The squeak of the metal against metal of the hinges echoed around me.

Why doesn't he oil those hinges?

I answered that question with, Why should he? He doesn't fix anything else in the old house. I decided to let the door stand open while I continued my trek to the great outdoors.

On the stoop outside the door, I stepped on something that squished beneath my feet. When I shined the flashlight on the spot where I had stepped, I realized I had squashed a snail.

"Yuck," I said as I held my foot up, looking at the bottom of my shoe.

I stepped off the stoop and onto the grass, where I swiped my foot back and forth to get the snail guts off my shoe.

I shined the beam of the flashlight around me quickly to see if there were any dangers out there waiting to grab me.

My mind flashed on something red, a flash of red that my eye must have seen. I whirled the flashlight back to where I thought I saw the red.

I saw a furry creature that was as frightened as I was, running away from me into the darkness. It looked like a stray dog. At least, I hoped it was a stray dog.

I had to press forward. I had to go to the little one-room house on the side of the hill. It was the same little, one-room house that had appeared in my dream.

The path was well worn, but it was beyond the fenced in yard. The cattle that grazed on the hillside, the sheep that munched on the grass, and the old mean turkey gobbler that guarded the area outside the fenced yard, could be lying in wait to antagonize anyone who was not on her toes.

None of the creatures were within the sight line of the beam of the flashlight, but I knew I had better hurry.

I shined the flashlight beam down to the ground. I certainly didn't want to step in a cow pile or brush up against a thistle plant.

When I reached the door of the little, one-room house, I was relieved. I turned the wooden block that was holding the door closed and stepped inside the room into total darkness. My flashlight had chosen that very moment to extinguish itself.

"Oh no," I whispered as I banged the flashlight with my hand. There was a flash of light and total blackness again. I banged again as I tried to keep myself from panicking.

Now what was I going to do?

I reached for the door and tried to push it open far enough so that it would stay open wide without any help.

"There, that's enough light. The moon will let me see what I need to see," I said, as I tried to convince myself that I wasn't scared to death.

I lowered my panties and pulled up my robe and gown as I proceeded to perform the duties required of the night walk under the light of the moon.

"When will he ever get an indoor bathroom?" I asked, as I rose from my sitting position over one of the two holes in the outhouse.

I ran back to the safety of the house, using only the moon to light my way.

Oh, how I hated that night walk by the light of the moon.

"Thank goodness there is a moon," I said, as I fell back to sleep under the covers of the old bed in the safety of my room.

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