At one time or another we've all been so scared as to scream. Our mouths open wide, jaws drop to our chest and the corners of our lips are about to split as we take in the horror that is upon us. We fill our lungs to capacity for maximum sound, expecting to snap eardrums for miles. All that air goes flying out in what should have been one blood curdling scream but instead we get a sound that's quieter than a whisper. Sometimes, this is a good thing.
We had some guest over one weekend and on the second morning of a wonderful time I was in the kitchen making breakfast when one of them walked in looking dead tired. I asked if he was ok and he responded with he was fine, just didn't get any sleep. He dragged his limp and lifeless body over to the kitchen table and sat down, rubbed his eyes and said, "You know when you're so scared, you open your mouth to scream and nothing comes out?" I told him I did, usually in nightmares. "Let me tell you about my nightmare then", he said.
It seems he got up around 1am and had to use the bathroom. He quietly felt his way down the dark hallway to the pitch black bathroom, stepped in and shut the door. He felt around the cold wall for a light switch to no avail. Not being able to see, he sat down instead of standing to urinate. As he sat there in total darkness he felt a warm breath blow across the back of his neck. At first, he thought he just imagined it but it happened again. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck and arms start to stand up as panic started to take over. He finished quickly and was ready to bolt out of the bathroom when he felt another warm breath followed by a tiny little tap on his left shoulder. Panic took over. He froze. He opened his mouth to scream but nothing came out. Fear had him glued down and visions of his decaying body being discovered on the porcelain thrown sent chills down his spine. Just as the last fleeting pictures of his life flew across his vision, he heard a tiny little sound come from behind him. These were the last seconds of his life. The tiny sound came again and this time he heard it clearly. Meow. That's when he realized there was a cat sitting on the toilet tank right behind him. After that, all he could think of was, thank gawd that he was sitting on a toilet.
