Tails of Maggie & Katie: Living alone.... It is dark. Very dark

Living alone.... It is dark. Very dark

by B. A. Brown

I have difficulty breathing. A heavy weight is upon my chest. Heart attack? Pneumonia? Should I panic?

Experimentally, I wriggle my toes. Working. I move my fingers about. Working. No pain down left arm -- isn't that a sign of a heart attack?

I cannot see anything. No perception of light or dark.

A strange fluttery feel upon my face. Maybe some crawly-skin feeling about my neck.

Perhaps a stroke? That would explain the blindness.

I try some of the large muscle groups.

I am possessed of all my limbs and digits.

But I still cannot move. Think~! Paralysis, what is paralysis a symptom of?

Again - maybe a stroke. Blindness, paralysis, How on earth will I summon help?

I try to move my head. I get that fluttery feeling again.

Suddenly, the fluttery feeling is replaced by a long, slow, moving feeling of wetness.

Am I bleeding? Have I somehow been attacked in my sleep? Is the attacker still here?

Another long, slow moving feeling of wetness. On the same side of my face.

I take a deep breath. As deep as I can with that pressure on my chest. I perceive an aroma. Nothing recognizable. Just a miasma of odor. Problems with the sense of smell - oh god, another sign of a stroke.

OK. Think. What do you know? Strokes - permanent, transitory, fleeting?

Another of those long, slow, moving feelings of wetness. And now sudden sharp pains in my shoulders. Heavy, penetrating pricks in both shoulders, on either side of my neck.

Kee-rist. What is that?? How on earth will I get to the phone in the kitchen? Or maybe I can drag myself to the computer and send an email. My fingers work. I can do it. I just have to somehow roll out of bed and get to the desk.

I try again to move. I try to roll off the bed. Nothing. And those shoulder pricks are back with a vengeance. And then another of those long, slow, moving feelings of wetness.

Followed by a warm snuffling in my ear.

A snuffling? Someone is here? Lying atop me? The attacker? SHall I play dead or yell?

Think!

If I show that I am awake I might be killed, or I might scare the intruder into running away. If I do nothing i will surely be killed.

I have to go for it.

I breathe in carefully. I yell "ARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!"

The weight lifts off my chest! Deep painful punctures in my shoulders! Noise, scrabbling.

I grab the pillow - as protection against a knife or gun it is not much, but the only thing I have.

I jump out of bed and lean over and flip on the light.

Katie.

My heart is pounding. Katie is 'sitting pretty', smiling, looking at me. Oh.

I sink down to the bed. Breathe deeply. Calming down now. I get up, turn off the light, return to bed. I plump the pillow, lie down.

Seconds later, Katie leaps upon the bed, walks about, arranges herself upon my person. She lies with her chest on my chest, her paws on either side of my neck, and her chin atop my skull.

This time, I am prepared for 122 pounds of intruder.

"Get the hell OFF!!"

She complies.

..... and now, more Tails of Maggie & Kate (ongoing stories, please keep checking back to see what has been added)

• Index to Tails of Maggie & Katie by B. A. Brown
• Introducing Maggie & Katie & Mom
• Maggie is on a Diet
• I really gotta get a life
• Maggie the Musician
• Anchors Aweigh!
• Goose Down Races - Doo Dah, Doo Dah Maggie has discovered The Pillow
• Good Morning! GAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKKK Bathroom Time
• Living alone.... It is dark. Very dark
• ar Mom has a new jok but I don think its funnee! by Maggie
• A Strange Occurrence
• Need a couple of extra dogs?
• Educational TV? pfui
• The Great Pheronome Experiment
• Some days, you just oughta have stood in bed!