Lesson 4-Home alone

It was a dark and stormy night; I was home alone. I usually felt comfortable in my own home at night even while it stormed. But not tonight, I had an eerie sensation. Why was I on edge, why does my skin feel crawly, I know something isn’t right. The dogs were jumpy too, they usually laid down after I fed them but tonight, they were pacing the kitchen. I’ll check the locks; this will help my sense of security. Each door and window were already locked, garage door was closed, the security system was armed, the outside light was on, I could think of nothing else to do to strengthen my fortress. Often my imagination would go wild, and I would conjure up worse case scenarios. A load clash of thunder seemed to echo throughout my house; I think something fell in the basement in sync with the thunder. Someone is in my basement, I was sure of it, do I send the dogs downstairs alone, do I leave the house and call for help, why didn’t I spend my time conjuring up ways to come up with solutions to worst case scenario. The dogs were on alert and standing by the basement door, I opened the door and let them charge downstairs. Was that a smart thing to do, what if my dogs got hurt, this is the worse night of my life. There was a ruckus occurring downstairs, barking and banging over the furniture, but no human screams. Then quiet, the dogs headed up the stairs, frothing at their mouths, panting, wide eyed and feral. Lightning lit up the house, I glanced downstairs and saw a body. It was still, head bent off to the side, not breathing. My dogs had killed; they were my protectors that night. On a stair lay the warm body of a rabbit, this was my intruder, the disturbance of my night, the unsettling object of conscience. I now can relax and enjoy my evening at home, but first the dogs deserved a treat for being my savior.