It was always tapping. A rap-tap-tapping that I couldn’t ignore. It didn’t matter if I was blasting the TV, wearing headphones, or was even in another room of the apartment.
Rap-tap-tap-tap.
Rap-tap-tap-tap.
There would always be that quiet, cool, stillness in the air. Even the T-Rex in Jurassic Park would freeze, one foot raised I supposed, and cock its head to listen.
A-rap-tap-tap-tap.
A-rap-tap-tap-tap.
I was being summoned. As always. Every year. I paused the movie, wondering why I even bothered playing it at all. I suppose I just thought if I tried hard enough, the noise would stop. Maybe I should try harder.
I stepped into the bedroom and opened the window. “It’s summer, Mikey, you’re fine!”
“Ssss….sss…” the night breeze whispered. “…sssooo… cold…”
I softened a bit. I couldn’t help it. “I know, Mikey, I know. I’m sorry.”
“L-love you…” the air sighed.
“I love you too guy. Hold on a minute.” I went back to the kitchen, grabbed a cold one from the fridge and headed back into the room.
“Here.” I said, carefully pressing the bottle between the gaps in the decorative wire barrier, and balancing the bottle on the edge of the outer sill. I had to be very careful not to let any part of me cross over Mikey’s side of the window unless I fancied some frostbite.
The bottle rattled and slid out into the night. I closed the window, then the curtains, and cried.
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Nightmare Fuel 2016, Day 13