A Summer Night Fright

Summer has arrived in all its glory and the weather was particularly pleasant on this Friday evening. In a quaint little apartment complex in the suburb of Lake Villa my husband and I were enjoying a peaceful time on the veranda overlooking our garden. Kyle had been tending to the steak sizzling on the grill and I watched the smoke billowing lazily into the sky. Sipping on ice cold beverages we were lost in conversation, oblivious to the outside world. Our steak reached the ideal temperature as I stepped out onto the veranda from the kitchen holding a dish when I spotted a sudden movement at the back of the garden. My blood froze as I saw a dark figure lift itself onto the wall separating our property with the neighboring unit, finding its balance and patiently walking in our direction. “Kyle! There! Look, on the wall!” The dish shattered on the floor. Startled, Kyle spotted the figure. “What do you think you are doing? Shirley, dial the police!” he yelled as the figure was closing distance. I was trembling uncontrollably, begging Kyle to return into the house and to lock the door. Kyle held his position with a knife in the grip of his hand. The figure advanced and stepped into the light of our veranda. A teenager, clearly in shock was staring at us with his hands apologetically in the air. “I apologize! I sneaked out of my parent’s house, I am your neighbor. Please, this is the only way to our back door.” In the stunned silence the three of us stared at each other as his parents stepped outside, awakened by all the commotion. The three of us burst out in fits of laughter as midnight melted into a brand new day.