Shadow Falls

When I finally talked to her, I asked if she had heard anything about me.

"You?" She asked. "No, I haven't heard anything. About what?" She wanted to know.

I explained about Carol, the accident, and my short term situation as in regards to her and my relationship.

"Oh, wow Mark. I'm so sorry." She said, "I heard about the lady falling off the cliff, I didn't know who it was." She added.

I cringed when she said "lady falling off the cliff". It seemed like such a casual reference to this extreme tragedy.

"Ashley." I said. "This is going to change our relationship." I told her. "Eventually we are going to be able to be together, but you need to give me some time."

"Oh, okay." She replied. "Wow, that is so weird about what happened. I mean it's really sad, but also really weird too." She added.

I was a little puzzled by her reply. She didn't seem quite as excited about the future of our relationship as I was. And she didn't seem to be as empathetic as I would have expected someone to be. Maybe I was reading too much into the situation.

"Anyway," I told her. "I'm going to be busy over the next week or so, but I'll call you as soon as I can." I pledged.

"Sounds good," She said almost too casually.

We will work things out as soon as the time is right, I told myself. Meanwhile I had a lot to do. Another meeting with the sheriff. A walk through with the Forest Service. And the funeral.

I had been granted the week off by management at Eastside. I told them I would be able to go back to work next Monday, Dan, Carol's brother, urged me to ease into things. I told him I appreciated it, but I needed to get my mind off the tragedy. He understood.

By nine PM I was exhausted. The restlessness I had experienced the first few nights seemed to be lifting. I was looking forward to a good night's sleep tonight.

Unfortunately that was not what happened.

I fell into a dead sleep almost immediately. Deep restful sleep, it had been an exhausting few days and somewhat troubled nights.

Just as suddenly, I was wide awake in my dark bedroom. What? What was it? Why was I suddenly awake - or more so, what had abruptly woken me?

I sat up, puzzled and a bit frightened. It was if someone, something, was in my bedroom. My fear escalated.

"Who's there?" I called out. I could not discount the frightened tone I heard in my own voice.

No reply, but was there a soft shuffling deep within the corners of the bedroom? I wasn't sure.

With fear and apprehension I turned on the bedside lamp. I was afraid of what I might see. Heart racing I examined the room, my head pivoting across the familiar landscape.

Nothing.

I sat staring for more than an hour, the lamp still on. Eventually I dozed back to sleep. Not a restful sleep. I woke with a start, troubled by the strange night.

I got up and used the bathroom. Walking back into the bedroom I noticed a smell.

Fecund, loamy, an earthy odor, as if the window had been open during a rainstorm and the moist ground had emanated the room. Almost like the smell and taste of nature, but slightly off.

Mixed within the natural earthy odor was an undercurrent of something spoiled. Not of rotting leaves, more carnal, as if something had gone bad. Not overpowering, but definitely there.

I examined the room. One of the windows was part way open. Could this be it? Could the outside odors have permeated the room? Doubtful, this hadn't happened before.

One thing was odd. The upholstered green plaid chair that sat in the corner was slightly damp. I touched the cushion and then rubbed my fingers. Not damp like water, but something more viscous. Just a damp sheen. Very odd.

I shrugged it off. My nerves were fragile during the ordeal of the week. I had a list of things I needed to get done today. Soon the bizarre night of interrupted sleep drifted away within my thoughts and lists of the day..

I even found some time to call Ashley.

"Ashley," I said. "How are you holding up? Can you be patient with me? Just a little while longer and then we can be together." I told her.

"Oh sure Mark." She said, "Things are good and I've been busy." She told me

"Well don't get too busy." I told her. "Just give me a little time, Ash." I added.

She just laughed. We talked a little longer and eventually I disengaged. I was still a bit troubled by the casualness of her comments. I'm sure once we are together things will be different for us.

It was another busy day. More contact with the sheriff's office, decisions at the crematorium and a meeting at the bank to change forms. I needed to bring the death certificate in as soon as it became available. I was disentangling Carol from my life. Sad, but I was optimistic for the future.

There were becoming moments when my underlying guilt seemed to completely recede.

I finally had a decent night's sleep. I was apprehensive about going to sleep. The experience of the other night made me anxious but the sheer exhaustion from the stress of the day allowed a deep uninterrupted night of slumber.

I felt better the next morning and powered through my list of to do's and phone calls to return. By noon there was a feeling of accomplishment. I decided to drive by Ashley's office and see if by chance I could just catch a glimpse of her, maybe a quick hello.

At first I just saw a steady stream of people heading out during the noon hour, no initial sight of Ashley. But then, I saw the flash of blond hair exiting the building and striding across the sidewalk. A smile spread across my face. I thought I would just pull the car up next to her and say hi.

Before I had a chance a black BMW a few cars ahead of me stopped and Ashley jumped in the passenger seat. I couldn't see who was driving through the dark tinted windows of the BMW.

Hmmm, I thought. I felt a momentary disappointment of not seeing Ashley when she was so close, but it was probably for the best that I keep a low profile in public around her. At least for now.

Later that day I swung by the offices of Eastside Ironworks. I spent some minutes receiving greetings of sympathy from fellow employees. I spoke to Dan about the planned gathering this weekend to celebrate Carol's life. Eventually I grabbed my files for the coming week and left.

Mid afternoon I called Ashley. We chatted for a few minutes and she seemed normal, glad to hear from me. I had a plan. I wanted to see her Saturday night. I wanted to meet her near her apartment and then we would drive to my house. We would drive directly into the garage, power the garage door down, and then we would spend the evening together, shades down and lights off.

"So you want to meet me where?" She asked, sounding slightly confused.

"Ashley, for now we need to be cautious." I told her. "I'll meet you at the Shop N Go right around the corner from your place at six PM. I can't wait to see you." I added.

"Okay?" She said, as if she didn't quite understand.

Once I hung up I took a deep breath. I was glad that I could finally be with her. I began to contemplate what would be an acceptable time frame before I could publicly acknowledge that I was dating her. Two months? Could I wait that long? Is that too quick? For now I was content with the knowledge that I would see her tomorrow.

That night the memories of the frightful night earlier in the week were gone. I slept fairly well. I had brief recollections of some unsettling dreams that I could not quite identify in the morning. Nothing specific.

When I went downstairs to the kitchen, something seemed odd. It was the feel and smell of a house after a door or window had been left open all night. A pocket of cooler air it felt like. An odor of the outdoors. The internal atmosphere of a home commingled with that of the outside. Odd.

I checked and there were no windows open and both exterior doors were securely locked. And then I saw the throw rug by the door to the backyard. I could see the image of two partial footprints on the rug. The footprints were small, smaller than mine.

I bent down to touch the impressions and they were just everso damp. Huh!? No one had been in the house. The doors are locked and deadbolted. I shook my head, just one of life's little mysteries I thought. I tried to ignore the strangeness of the morning and almost succeeded in doing so.

I picked up Ashley at the Stop N Go near her apartment and drove to my house just as I had planned. Ashley looked around my house, checking things out, curious about certain things.

I had spent most of the day cleaning up. Cleaning for two reasons. I certainly wanted to make sure that Ashley had a positive first impression. Also I knew I was going to be hosting friends and family in celebration of Carol on Sunday.

The sex with Ashley was fantastic as usual. She was athletic and experimental. We tried different positions and we both orgasmed multiple times. Any thoughts of guilt, odd happenings within the house, or worries about the future were washed away. Laying in my bed, my arm around her lightly fondling her breast, I was content.

About midnight I told her I needed to take her home. I think she wanted to stay, but I had a big day tomorrow. If our relationship even was suspected by friends or family there could be severe complications for my life.

Finally back home alone I went to sleep content that my life was moving in the right direction.

It was not the abrupt wakening of that first night. It was different. I was half in a dream and half awakened. There was a noise, a strange noise, familiar but strange also. What was it?

Slowly I came fully awake and sat up in bed, my head cocked to the side trying to distinguish what I was hearing and where it was coming from.

Finally I recognized what it was. It was crying. A muffled constant weeping sound and it was coming from somewhere within my house. Suddenly I was frightened.

I turned on the bedside lamp. Nothing in the room, but the noise was somewhere else in the house. I got up and retrieved the flashlight out of the drawer. Afraid, I moved into the hall. I couldn't pinpoint where the sound was coming from, but as I moved down the hall to the stairs the odor was back.

It was the smell of that first night. The fecund odor of the outdoors mixed with the undercurrent of rotten meat. I also felt cooler pockets of air in the house, as if a window was open. I shivered.

When I got to the main floor the sound of the crying was gone, but it was much cooler. I checked the living room and the kitchen. Nothing. The front door was locked and the garage door was also locked, but I was stunned when I entered the den.

The door to the backyard was wide open. The bad, mixed odor was quite strong in this room. I was positive I had locked this door. Could someone be in the house? Now my fear heightened.

I closed, locked and deadbolted the back door. I went to the hall closet and got out my old softball bat, for protection. Slowly I searched the house, for what? An intruder? Right now, I would welcome an intruder. At least I'd have an explanation of all these strange happenings.

I found nothing.

There was no way I was going back to sleep. I was exhausted, anxious and frightened all rolled into one.

I thought about what I had experienced. First was the crying noise that woke me. I know I didn't imagine that because I heard it as I was walking upstairs. Furthermore the odd, sad, weeping sound I could still vividly recall. And then the backdoor. I was 98% sure I had locked it.

I was frightened in my own house. My sleep was disturbed and it felt as if some other entity was inhabiting my home. Something beyond my ability to comprehend was happening. My lone strategy was to hope it stopped soon.

The reception for Carol brought out a mixture of feelings. I truly was sad and missed a lot about Carol. I continually had to compartmentalize my guilt at my actions on the hike. I did become emotional several times during the day. My sadness and guilt commingled to create a sufficiently somber persona that was actually appropriate for the occasion..

Mercifully it was over by late afternoon. Tomorrow I was back at work. Fortunately no unexplained noises that night.

This is kind of bad to say but there was another upside to Carol's death, beyond my future with Ashley. I got sympathy sales. My business was up. Most people in the business community I was involved with knew what had happened.

I even got a call back from Julian Bannister, the CEO of Palavian Industries. Where Ashley worked. We now had a lunch meeting set for a week from Wednesday. I would not only get to pursue my proposal with Palavian, I would get to see Ashley.

The routine of work occupied me for most of the week. Everyone was nice and solicitous to me, conscious of my grieving situation. I spoke to Ashley every couple of days or so. We made clandestine plans for the coming weekend, though she said it would have to be Friday, she was busy Saturday.

As curious as I was to why she was unavailable Saturday, I didn't ask. I really didn't have the right at this time to become possessive of her time. Yet. And I knew our feelings were strong for one another. I was fairly sure.

My house was another matter altogether. No unexplained noises or mysterious opened doors this week, but the odd odors and atmospheric changes within the house became a little more permanent. I tried air freshener, I tried opening the windows, I even had the fans going with the doors open. Nothing worked.

I began to get used to it.

Friday evening was the same drill as last Saturday. I was to meet Ashley at the convenience store and head to my house, directly to the garage.

This time when I got to the store, Ashley wasn't there. After 10 minutes I texted her.

"Where are you?" Was my message.

"On my way, two minutes." She replied.

It was more like ten minutes by the time she got there. I was a little perturbed and she could tell.

"Sorry I was late." She told me as she slid in the front seat. "I met some friends after work for a drink and lost track of what time it was." She added with a big smile.

When I didn't smile back or even reply I think she then realized I wasn't happy.

"Mark, I'm sorry!" She said, "Maybe I can make it up to you." She added.

And with that she reached over, undid my zipper, and pulled my rapidly swelling penis out of my pants. She engulfed me. Her mouth sucking and sliding my manhood in and out.

I slowed way down so we didn't get in a wreck. I nearly made it all the way to my house, but her sucking and stroking became too much and I ejaculated just as we turned into the apron of my driveway. We nearly collided with the corner of the garage.

Any lingering thought of her being late was extinguished. My mood was rejuvenated.

As we entered the house, Ashley stopped, and sniffed the air.

"Do you have a dog?" She asked me.

I told her I didn't, but maybe something in the refrigerator had gotten old.

"Maybe." She replied, not quite believing that was the source of the odor.

"Do you have something you can spray in here?" She asked.

Later I took her home and reflected that though it had been a sexually satisfying evening as was usual with Ashley, some of our interpersonal connection was missing. Something seemed off. I know I was on edge because of all the unexplained happenings at my home. But it also felt like Ashley wasn't quite into things as she had been previously.

I had to think about that.

I fell asleep with these thoughts on my mind. And then something woke me. A noise, in the house, no, in my bedroom I heard a noise. A shuffle, the bumping of a wall. A normal sound you may hear when other people are in a house. An explainable sound. But I was alone in my house. There shouldn't be these types of noises.

Slowly I looked around in the dark room. I was too frightened to turn on the lights. There was some ambient light coming from the windows so the room wasn't pitch black, I was able to make out gray shapes in the room.

I lay quietly in my bed, petrified, slowly examining the room for an intruder, a source of the noises that woke me. And then another sound, some type of creaking from the far corner. I squinted my eyes to look into that dark spot in the room, and . . . . . it looked as if someone was sitting in the green plaid chair.

My heart was pounding. Was someone over there? I stared and I could see the outline of what looked like a head. And though it was impossible to tell I had the distinct feeling that whatever was there was staring at me! Another noise and what looked like some movement from the silhouette.

Slowly and quietly I reached up to turn on the bedside light. Staring at the shadow in the corner I switched on the light. For that first moment the bright light blinded my vision as I stared into that corner, but I saw something. In an instant my vision cleared and the corner was empty. There was nothing sitting in that green plaid chair. But I had seen something and I didn't want to think about what I thought I may have seen.

Heart pounding, in a cold sweat, I bolted from the room. I went downstairs to the living room. I retrieved my softball bat from the closet. I turned all the living room lights on. Wrapped in my blanket wide awake I sat, shivering, nerves on edge. I would not sleep again tonight.

I replayed the events of the night over and over. Had it been a dream? No, I had been awake as I am now. No way it was a dream. First there were the noises in the bedroom. I thought about the noises. Houses settle and make sounds all the time. Even as I tried to talk myself into that, I knew these had been more active noises. As if someone had made them.

And then there was the human outline sitting in the chair. Also, the feeling that whatever was in that corner, was looking at me. And finally that vivid, instant sight as my eyes were transitioning from the dark to light. I saw something at that moment. I didn't want to think about it, but I had to.

I saw Carol in that corner staring at me. Staring at me with the same expression of sadness on her face as she'd had when she'd fallen over the trail edge. Where I had dropped her.

I continued to sit there in the brightly lit room in the middle of the night. I felt ill. I was exhausted but also anxious. The cold sweat dampened my pajamas. I shivered and wondered what was happening.

For the rest of the weekend I wandered around the house without purpose. I showered and shaved but the haunted expression that looked back at me from the mirror heightened my anxiety. My eyes look sunken, my brow worried. I had no appetite.

Throughout that weekend I didn't really sleep. I was too frightened. I would nod off for forty five minutes or so and then jolt awake, afraid, but that was it. I didn't have the energy to mow the lawn or work outside. I was exhausted but I was too afraid to sleep.

There were no more sounds or sights during the weekend but the odor was back. Back in full force. The rotten part of the smell was getting worse. I tried all the same tactics to eliminate the smell. Nothing worked.

Finally Sunday night I got a little sleep. No nighttime interruptions, but I dreamt of Carol. In my dream she was far away telling me something. I couldn't hear what she was saying but for whatever reason I knew it was important. I needed to hear her message. I would try to move toward her but as I moved forward she would drift farther away.

Monday morning I woke up nervous again after the restless sleep.

During the week work was actually a positive distraction from the anxiety I experienced at home. I must have been showing the effects of my anxiousness. People looked at me with concern. My brother in law, Dan, even suggested I take some more time off. They were interpreting my unsettled appearance as grief.