Happy Birthday Sweetie

5 years ago

The sound of someone moving downstairs was what yanked me from sleep. Was Mommy up? I looked around my room and smiled at my new pink walls mommy had gotten me for my 10^th birthday. Another thump downstairs. Wondering what mommy was doing, I slid out of bed, grabbed my teddy, and slipped downstairs.

The rustling continued as I got to the bottom of the staircase. Suddenly the house was filled with a loud popping sound that hurt my ears. I could hear mommy screaming but I was to scared to move. Then daddy was there beside me, shoving me into the kitchen and under the kitchen table. He raised his finger to his lips, a signal I knew that meant keep quiet. He kissed my head then dropped the tablecloth down, concealing me under the table.

It got quite in the house, but just when I started to lift the tablecloth, the popping sound came again. Two more loud pops and I heard someone cry out, heard a thump, then silence. I gripped Teddy tightly to my chest.

Mommy had told me what to do in case someone ever came into the house, to call the police. But the phone was across the room on the counter and daddy had not come back to tell me it was okay to come out. I could still hear someone moving in the den and the occasional sound of something being dropped into a bag.

Curiously, I poked my head from under the tablecloth and saw him. A tall man wearing a black mask and all black clothes, was searching freely through the den. Then I noticed daddy crawling towards the man. Dad raised his hand and a loud noise rang through the house and the man dropped to the floor and didn't move again.

I screamed and hid back under the table. I could hear dad calling for me now. "Jo, are you okay? Jo, if you can, call the police. Johanna, call the police for me please."

Slowly I crawled out from under the table and moved not towards the phone but to him. He was still on the floor but he shooed me away saying, " Honey I love you but please go call the police."

I was crying, but I nodded and made my way to the phone. A lady picked up immediately. "Hello, this is 911. What's your emergency?"

It took a second to answer because I didn't exactly know what the emergency was now that the man was on the ground. "Um, a man was in the house," was all I could think to say. "Are your parents there? Can you get to them?"

"Yes." I ran back into the den to give dad the phone but he didn't take it. Didn't even move. "Dad?" No answer. I tapped his shoulder, then his chest. That's when I noticed the red stain seeping through his shirt.