Who is outside?
It was difficult to sleep, but in my life it was often difficult to sleep.I refrained, by long habit and training, from tossing and turning.I arrenged my body comfortably and lay perfectly still, and eventually I began to be aware of the small twists of illogic in my thoughts that preceded sleep.Then I was awake.It was still as black as outer space.It was uncomfortably warm.There must have been a noise.I strained my ears int he darkness for a sound from my children.A faint movement, buti t seemed to come from the direction of the window.Probably Kevin and Mira coming home, andtherefore it was foolish to get up and stare out, but I was up and staring out, and the courtyard below was still like a hole into hell.Nevertheless, something was moving, something was making faint noises.”Are you children?” I called.The silence was quite noticeable, a sudden cessation of sound.I gazed quite calmly down into the darkness, controlling the nervous quickening of my breath.It was probably a cat or a dog, it was nothing to worry about.There was a pub nearby, houses, people.If anyone tried to come into the house, I could switch lights on and scream. The silence continued.I grew angry, bot hat whatever had caused the noise and at myself.Some idiot teen-ager, perhaps, hoping to steal something from my auto.But inane children sometimes wrenched off side.view mirror, license plates, scratched the paintwork just for kicks.The idea infuriated me.I found the light switch and turned it, put on slippers and a dressing-gown and ran downstairs.I switched ont he light int he kitchen, to let it spill into the courtyard, and went to the window and looked out.The light fell ont he car, but there was no sign of human or animal.The silence was complete.It was clear that I had imagined the sound.I was unhysterical enough to know that everybody can become hysterical occasionally.It was hysterical, for instance, to want to slam the door to and bolt it when the courtyard was empty.Then I realized a little animal ont he top of my auto.It was a squirrel!Now, I thought briefly, I am hysterical.It was satisfying, that nobody wanted to hurt me!