There were evenings I spent with a friend after dinner who lived about a half mile away. By October the nights came quicker than before, and there were a few times I decided to break the monotony of my usual walk home by taking another way. My foot steps always picked up and went at a quicker pace when I wasn't in completely familiar territory, or near a street light. Shadows in strange places seemed to take on a life of their own.
I knew for a fact that two driveways and three garbage cans down the street was where monsters waited for me.They lurked behind the laurel hedges, behind bushes, or high in the tree tops. I could almost hear them slithering slowly down the trunks of dried bark and dying branches. They landed on crunchy dead leaves creeping in the blackness of night. I wasn't stupid enough to try and find them, but instead, I picked up the pace. Whenever a straight section of road, or path appeared, I ran like the wind.
Every slip in gravel, every crunch of dead leaves in the grass, and every whistle a night wind made told me they were close. It was only by the time I reached our front porch that I knew I could afford to look over my shoulder. What a relief it was to know that I was in a monster-free zone. Still, they were out there, somewhere...
What a wonderful season!
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