The Incident

The true story of something that happened to me that I’ve never been able to explain.

The Incident

By: Moonlit_Cove

-Autumn 1993-

 

I was attending college at a local university while still living at home.  My family’s house at the time was a tri-level style, and the entire lower level had been converted into my bedroom.  It was spacious and it offered me a place to study, a private bathroom, and a small hobby room at the base of the stairs.  When not doing homework or studying I would spend hours in the hobby room, passing the time by painting and assembling scale models.  It provided a peaceful and therapeutic escape from the stress of my engineering classes.

 

 One particular morning, on a day when I’d had only one early class and was already home for the day, I decided to spend a little time at the modeling workbench before diving into my studies.  My mother was the only other person in the house, as my father and older sister were both at work.  She came down the short flight of stairs and stood in the doorway behind me.

 

“I’m going to the grocery.  Do you need anything?” she asked.

 

“Nope.  But let me know when you get back and I’ll help you with the bags,” I offered aloud even though she already knew I would carry them in for her as I always did.

 

“Alright.  See you soon.”  With that, she turned and headed back up the stairs.  I heard the kitchen door close and the lock fasten behind her.

 

I did not have the radio on while I worked, which was very rare for me.  Normally I would switch it on before even sitting down at the bench, but this time I had become so absorbed in what I was doing that I never bothered to turn it on.  With the exception of a clock ticking in the hallway, the house was completely silent.  You could have heard a pin drop, as they say.

 

As I worked meticulously on painting the small model parts, I lost track of time.  At first I was startled when I heard my mother unlock and open the kitchen door.  Wow, that was fast, I thought, but as I glanced over at the line of parts I’d already painted, I realized that at least an hour must have passed.  She placed her keys on the kitchen table, as well as a couple of grocery bags that she’d carried in with her.

 

“I’m home!” she called down to me, before turning to go back outside for more bags.  I began quickly cleaning my paintbrush so that I could help her as promised.  Once the brush was cleaned and dried, I scurried up the stairs and into the kitchen.

 

There were no keys on the table.  There were no grocery bags on the table.  The kitchen door was still locked.  I froze, not knowing what to do.  My heart raced inside my chest to the point that I could hear my pulse inside my ears.

 

Slowly, I walked over to the window that faced the driveway.  My mother’s car was not there.  I stood motionless and contemplated what I should do.  I was too frightened to go back downstairs alone.  In fact, I was so terrified that I wasn’t even able to turn my back on the empty room.  I stood in the corner of the kitchen, facing inward so that I would see any…thing that appeared.  Occasionally I would glance out the window to the driveway.  I waited in this fashion until I saw my mother pull in.

 

“Did you come home once already?” I asked her when she finally came inside.

 

“No.  Why?”  She placed two bags onto the kitchen table - the exact sound I’d heard not even fifteen minutes ago.

 

I told her everything that I had heard while she was gone.  She seemed only mildly intrigued, and I was disappointed at how indifferent she was about it.  I expressed to her that maybe if she’d been there to experience it for herself, she would be a lot more freaked out about it.  I helped her bring in and put away the remainder of the groceries, but I carried an unnerved feeling with me for the rest of the day.

 

- - - - -

 

That night I told my sister about the incident.  She listened wide-eyed and even gasped during the reveal that mom hadn’t come home yet.  Finally, someone that reacted the way I would expect!

 

“Oh my gosh!” my sister exclaimed.

 

“I know - it’s freaky, isn’t it?” I replied.

 

“Yeah, I can’t believe it happened to you, too!”

 

I recoiled, my mouth hanging open in disbelief.  “What?” I finally managed.

 

She went on to relay the story of what had happened to her just the day before.

 

- - - - -

 

My sister’s room was on the top floor of the tri-level.  On most mornings after getting dressed, she would routinely descend the stairs halfway and sit there to put on her shoes.  As she did this, just off to her right was a living area with a television, coffee table, a couple recliners, and a leather couch that would always squeak when someone shifted their weight on it.  The doorway into that room was at the base of the stairs, but the room itself was hidden behind a wall from her vantage point sitting on the steps.

 

The day prior to my incident she was on the stairs, as usual, tying her shoes.  The TV was on and she heard the squeak of the couch leather as someone adjusted their position on it.  Assuming it was me, she began speaking to me.  Her frustration increased with each passing moment that I did not answer her.

 

Once finished with her shoes, she stomped down the stairs to give me a piece of her mind.  Upon turning the corner and entering the living room, she was startled to discover that not only was there no one on the couch, but that the television wasn’t even turned on.

 

I was in shock as she told me this.  “I had classes all day yesterday.  I wasn’t even home,” I told her.

 

“I know.  It turned out that no one was here, but I heard it all as plain as day.”

 

I believed her.  After having my own experience I really had no other choice.

 

- - - - -

 

Our family lived in that house four more years and there were never any other occurrences.  In fact, of the ten years that we lived there only those two consecutive days contained any sort of irregular activity.

 

I wish I could tell you that I knew what had caused the incidents.  My sister and I have discussed many possibilities over the years, believe me.  We still talk about it from time to time even twenty three years later, but we have never been able to explain them away.

 

Reviews

[KAREN]

This was so spooky! Kept me in from start to finish!

[moonlit_cove]

Thank you so much, Karen!

[KAREN]

You're welcome!

[Samuel Dickens]

Wow. You had me the whole way. Without going into it, I can tell you that I've experienced a few unexplained events, also. Freaky things do happen. Like you and your sister, my late brother and I used to talk about them. Well-written and absorbing.

[moonlit_cove]

Thank you, Samuel for taking the time to read and comment. I appreciate it. I always find myself fascinated by people's accounts of unexplainable phenomena. Thanks again.

[Quinn W]

This is very interesting. Maybe some ghosts were playing tricks on you two.

Glad to see you back on WC!

[moonlit_cove]

Thank you, Quinn! Nice to be back. I hadn't written anything in quite a long time - been focusing on other hobbies. Thanks for reading.