Little Girl paced the window sill. Her tail flicked anxiously. Something outside the window had her attention. Probably a passing leaf, Zeke thought, or squirrel. All Zeke was certain of is that if he looked, he would see nothing. Little Girl was easily entertained for hours by things that long since passed the window. For Zeke, Little Girl’s whip tail was endlessly amusing. Content in the thought that nothing was there, Zeke took another sip of beer and continued to watch the shadows of leaves dance on the wall just beyond the window and Little Girl’s tail.
This Saturday afternoon was warm like a proper Seattle July afternoon. It was a strange summer. Last week, the temperatures barely broke the Seventies. Today, the mercury was passing the Eighty degree mark. Zeke tipped back his bottle one more time to salute this proper July afternoon knowing that next week the whacked-out weather would probably shift to a blizzard. Today, though, Zeke was going to drink beer, read, and bask in the warmth.
It wasn’t long before the quiet afternoon and beer colluded to put Zeke to sleep. His hand slumped and the book dropped to his lap while his chin rested on his chest. His mind turned from the story he was just reading to a place just below waking thoughts. Dreaming for Zeke was a lot like trying to tune into a channel just at the edge of reception. Colors are faded and the image is filtered through static, and sound echoed from the inside of a trash can.
“Zeke.” It was a distant voice broken by static and interference. Zeke turned to locate the source. He couldn’t see anything except the field he was standing in and the tree-line ahead of him. The forest was dense. A steady breeze and high sun cast shadows that moved deep into the wood. It was impossible for Zeke to tell the difference between a moving object from a trick of light.
“Zeke, what are you waiting for? Come along.” The voice was definitely female and made a little clearer by a breeze blowing towards him through the forest. Zeke took a step toward the tree-line, but stopped short. From the woods to his left, an echoing crack like a tree trunk snapping sounded.
“Don’t wait in the open, you idiot. It’s coming.”
Zeke’s heart raced with panic. His feet felt buried.
“Dammit! Move or die!”
The treetops to his left started to tremble faster than the neighboring trees. Zeke turned to his right. When he tried to lift his right leg, Zeke just fell to the ground. Looking back over is shoulder, he saw to treetops nearer the tree-line shaking more. The snapping and creaking sounds were getting louder, nearer. Deep in the shadows, Zeke started to make out a shape. Too large to be real, he thought. His chest heaved and bucked harder. Zeke kicked his legs trying to get them under him so he could bolt towards the voice.
The book tumbled to the floor with a loud dead thud. Little Girl was more agitated than usual. She chattered at something in the trees. In his waking haze, Zeke thought he saw a squirrel sized person. Before his eyes focused, the blur fell from a limb. Little Girl followed with her eyes as it disappeared from Zeke’s view. Convinced that he saw what he saw, Zeke popped out of his chair and stumbled to the window.
Scuttling across the ground to a neighboring tree was a gray squirrel. It’s tail twitched in all directions as it made its ascent up the trunk. The spiraled around the trunk and disappeared. Little Girl stared wide-eyed at the tree expecting that at any moment it to reappear.
“Dammit, Little Girl. You ruined a perfectly good nap.” Zeke snatched Little Girl from the window sill and plopped her in her favorite spot on the couch. She just glared at him and silently added the comment “Kiss my ass, Zeke” by licking her butt.
