Phobia

He walks delicately and swiftly near the piece of paper taped on my apartment door

I run quickly past, hoping he doesn’t see me staring at him

Gathering my laundry, whispering on the phone to my boyfriend that he scares me

Hoping maybe he’ll be gone by the time I fold all of my clothes

A cold breeze from the riverside window makes me shiver

I hurry back and open the door slightly, he disappears

Frantic, I gasp and slam the door, hoping to not wake the neighbors

A chill up my spine as I set down the laundry basket on the chair by the kitchen

Sitting on the couch to finish a paper on the philosophy of free will

Wondering if I should stay up until the sun rises or rush the paper and sleep a few moments

Quickly getting sleepy, struggling to keep my eyes open and focus on the topic

Out of the corner of my eye I sense a movement on the pale white ceiling

Holding my breathe he scurries quickly to the wall

Plotting his demise, I search for my blue sandals

Waiting until he’s low enough that I can reach him eye to eye

He wanders to the map of Cocoa Beach

A brilliant move, he’s camouflaged among the bright colors of the water and land

Amidst the advertisements for cheap seafood and tourist attractions

Will he choose the Kennedy Space Center to land on before he escapes my watchful eye?

Maybe the gentlemen’s club ad?

Staring attentively at his delicate legs as he scurries quickly away knowing he’s been spotted

Debating to take his life or not, knowing my roommate will if I don’t

‘Maybe he deserves a chance’ I wonder

He’d likely die of the cold if I transported him outside

It had to be done

I lifted the ocean blue flip flop and gracefully smacked it against the wall

He disappears once again, no guts, maybe I just got a leg

Paranoid, I walk slowly across the darkly colored brown carpeting that must be from the 50s

I sit back down on the couch and search for any movement on the floor

Is he dead? I don’t think I’ll ever know

Unless he scurries back up the wall or wanders into the light

He’s likely in a spot I can’t see him

Waiting for the right moment to scurry across the carpet, crawl onto my foot and sink his fangs into my skin

A likely payback for my swift flip flop attack

I’ll just have to hope he’s more forgiving than I

Or maybe he won knowing the rest of the night I’ll be suspicious of anything and everything and wondering where he might be…

Reviews

[Barbara Walker]

Great read! I think he won! Barbara

[PianoandPage]

lol. this made me laugh and cringe as i share the same phobia and go through the same thoughts whenever "he" shows up. my fiance' and i have a no kill spa spolicy (we call them spa since if you say the whole word they will come and attack). it's superstitious but damn if it isn't true.

anyway i like this piece. you definately describe the feeling very well. it's a fun creative way to epress very real fear. i especially liked the bit about choosing between scurrying to the space center or the gentleman's club. lol. comical and genius really.

[.]

LoL! Very funny- Im not making fun of you, but I thought this was hilarious! I loved how u've described the sleuth and criminal/and enemies vernacular of it- that was cool lol

Mike

[Lydia Shutter]

WOW, what a great description of a phobia...and easy to relate to since we all have one or two, don't we? Incredible imagery in this well written piece. Lydia

[Roy]

This is great. Around a single bug in the room, you wove drama, philosophy, suspense, color, and whimsy. Great job!

[Poeticpiers]

I enjoyed this most descriptive piece of work.You capture the essence of an unreasoning phobia excellently. But think on this the bug might be unreasonably afraid of you