The Frightening Night

It’s been a week since that frightening night I was electrified by the shriek that left me drawing predictions of what could have happened next door to me. Next door, were the kind old man and his strange care taker used to live. I’ve always believed the young lad to be abrasive, apart from my many other thoughts of his personality, but no one else seemed suspicious about him, as if they were oblivious to his behavior. I shuddered as the memory of the shriek echoed through my head, reminding me it had come from the old man with extreme terror in his voice.

            A week before this terrifying night, I remember the care taker’s over friendly behavior with the old man. Even then, he could not hide his grimace when he saw the old man’s vulture eye. I can agree that it was repulsing looking at that thing, but it was a sickness, there was no need for the hate the care taker held for the eye. It was easy to feel the tension of that mad man, the atmosphere around him would just make me shudder. I thought, no I knew he despised it, and he would endeavor to get rid of it, no matter what.

            That night as I lay in my bed I succumbed to my theory that the old man had been assassinated. I noticed my wife was awaken by the shriek as well but thought it was me and let her dreams flow again. I told her about my theory, about my fear for the old man’s safety, but she thought I wasn’t being reasonable, that maybe he’d screamed because of a dream. I doubted that. I deliberated no more, and called the police. I was getting nervous as I thought about my gruesome theory being true. My hands shook with every passing second.

            After what seemed an eternity of waiting, a police man answered the phone in a careless way. I started babbling out words too quickly and gave a cursory version of what had been going on. Due to the lack of details in my report, the incompetent man, who apparently didn’t quite get my message, surmised I had made this up. I was about to go insane! Trying to control my abrupt tone, I asked him to let me talk to his chief, for he was nothing but a brainless farm animal, this I kept to myself. When speaking to a decent human being, I corroborated to my story.

            I shook myself out of my flash back avoiding more nervousness, remembering that I had derived information from Mr. Blackwood, chief of the police, that I could examine the crime scene. I crept my way into the house feeling oddly unsettled. I saw various police men and analyzers gingerly examining something. I wanted to stop myself from walking closer to it, but my curiosity was more powerful than my will, and there it was. Cold as ice, stiff as stone, pale as snow, and very dehydrated, lying on the floor was the old man’s corpse! I thought I was going to be thoroughly repulsed, but instead I felt anger. I felt anger towards the care taker who was in charge of his murder. I was glad the cruel inhumane maniac was sentenced to death. I wanted to look away from the corpse, but I just couldn’t. Sadness stroke me and I finally looked away when the body was clad with a dark sheet. Taking a last glimpse of his face, I could swear he was eager for revenge in his expression.

Moving on around the house, I noticed other men inventory the evidence they’d found along with other observations. From the tiniest but of hair, to the broken boards on the floor were valuable hints. I imagined they would also make a simulation of the crime scene to draw even more theories and make the assassination clearer. I suddenly felt pity for the old man, and yet I felt relieved. I pitied him because his life was in vain, he shouldn’t have left just yet, I wanted to say goodbye. And I felt relieved because now he would no longer be sad. He was with his wife now, somewhere better, with no one to be repulsed by his eye. He’d still be vulture-eyed, but he would be so much happier. And as I left his house I whispered goodbye, with tears and a smile on my face. Let him be peaceful and joyful with no more worries of death coming for him soon, for he was free to fly away were the wind would take him.