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Short stories: Life lessons

by Andie Anderson

Created on: June 08, 2008

I was alone in the house when I began to perceive a strange sound, a sort of low moan. I murmured to myself, "Aw, you're just imagining things, you're just scared because you saw, The Haunting on television". I glanced at the digital alarm clock and saw that the night had gone by fast; it was 5:30 am.

At seven o'clock, I would have to get up, have breakfast, feed the cat, get dressed and leave for school. I wondered if Mom, Dad, and John were driving over the Throgs Neck Bridge by now, if the traffic wasn't too bad, and if they didn't have to stop for gas they would probably get to the college by noon.

In three more years, Mom and Dad would have to go through the same nerve-racking process of finding a good college for me to attend. I turned over in bed and decided to go back to sleep. I was just getting relaxed when I heard the soft moaning again, 'oooo-aahshshoooo.' I sat up quickly and felt my heart jump a few beats. My adrenalin must be working for I felt every muscle tighten, ready to explode in a surge of primal fear.

My fright brought on an increased awareness of the importance of good perception in the event of an emergency. I wondered was this an emergency or not? Maybe a burglar was in the house, Maybe a ghost was just passing through. These insane thoughts made me even more frightened then ever. There aren't such things as ghosts, boy am I stupid! I thought with relief. I heard garbage cans rolling down the street. Now I was convinced that the moaning came from the wind.

Suddenly, I heard the moaning get louder. The sound appeared to be coming from the kitchen. There was a new sound, a rather high-pitched creaking and whistling. I was acting like a mad woman, I started running around the house trying to find the sounds. I wondered if I should let my cat out of the t.v. room, maybe my cat could find the source of the uncanny sounds. Animals are supposed to have excellent perception of things we can't see or hear.

I opened the door cautiously and let the cat into the living room. The moaning sound started to rise higher in pitch. The cat started to cringe at the sound and his fur stuck up on his back. The cat's ears went back and his eyes opened wide. He then darted into the kitchen and stopped short. I went into the kitchen and saw the cat looking up at the fan over the stove.

I came to the conclusion that the moaning and creaking came from the fan. I was so glad that this torturing madness had come to an end. I wondered how could I be so dumb as to believe that something wierd had happened. The moaning sound was a result of the wind going through the vent on the roof and down into the fan. The creaking sound was the fan turning slowly as the air current passed through the funnel.

I looked at the kitchen clock, "Oh God," I yelled, "It's 7:15" I quickly fed the cat and then got my breakfast ready, I flicked the radio on and then sat down to eat my Cheerios. I nearly choked on the cereal when I heard on the news that a house in my neighborhood had been robbed and a woman had been raped.

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