It’s 2 am in New Zealand and Yuki and I are arguing over our financial situation yet again. Suddenly the outside security sensor lights pop on, illuminating our living room. We run outside but we don’t see anything. I am in my pajamas, really simply a holey giant size t-shirt, leftover memories from an old boyfriend. In this fashionable outfit I venture through the fence and into our backyard while Yuki goes hunting around the front yard.
I don’t have a flashlight and am using what light there is leaking through the bushes from the security light to see by. I hear a noise! I stand frozen as I hear quite clearly a low rumble, a raspy breath, a deep inhalation.
All the sounds of a VERY large mammal of some kind lurking in the bushes beyond the light. I stand paralyzed with fear and then run as fast I can into the house and stand against the door with my heart beating a mile a minute. Yuki comes running over “what is it? what frightened you?” I stammer “there’s something…something in the bushes…” he grabs my hand “Its BIG!” I continued “We need weapons and a flashlight”
We gather our arsenal: a bat shaped Halloween trick or treat flash light that squeaks when you open it, a piece of a car jack, a slightly small butcher knife, my camera (in case I needed evidence of my demise) and we were set to go.
Yuki bravely steps outside with a trembling me close behind but ready for action. I am so close I bump into his back when he stops to get his bearings. We approach the bushes. Yuki hears the horrific breathing and freezes for a moment, then gives me an Ok sign and we put our weapons at ready and rush into the bushes hell bent on saving our child and home from this intruder.
We smash through the bushes and trip over our neighbor who is snoring loudly and forcefully away in a sleeping bag outside a pup tent in his back yard that borders ours.
He didn’t even wake up. He is a very large mammal.
Its 3 am, I can’t sleep now
Fear The Backyard
A short autobiographical piece. My first attempt at public writing : )