The Scaredy Cat

On a cold winter night. I was rudely woken up by the loud sound of glass breaking. I got up all worried and a bit scared as to what could have caused the sound. My first thought was to go and turn on the light but I looked around with caution. I was not sure who or what may be lurking around. Was it someone trying to break into the house? Recently, there had been some incidents of armed robbery in the neighborhood and the culprits were still at large. Luckily no one was hurt during that robbery. But the masked men had been described as very menacing brandishing knives and a pistol. They had managed to decamp with all the jewels and the little cash that the poor couple had saved at home. I was all alone and the prospect of being a victim was unnerving, to say the least. Every shadow that moved only doubled my fears that there was indeed someone that had tried to break-in. Not that there was much to lose. But my monkey mind was racing at high speed and my para-sympathetic nerves may have taken over too. What if the person or persons tried to kill me? What if they hurt me and left me hanging for dear life? There was none at home and I may find it difficult to even seek help. Oh boy, what a mess that would all be! I snapped out of thoughts, into the present, when I noticed a movement in the room…or had I imagined the movement? I wanted to wait and to see if there would be any further sound or movement before I made my move to switch on the light. But I was already in a panic mode and decided not to wait any longer. I mustered some courage and put my foot down from the bed. I was also worried about the possibility of stepping on broken glass pieces and hurting myself since I could not see the floor very well. The cold wind and the sound of the breeze added to the eeriness of the experience. I quickly wore my sweater that was luckily at hand and moved in small steps while looking out in the direction where I had noticed the movement. All of a sudden, I noticed a pair of light bulbs watching me from under the table, away from the window. What the…? The expression almost escaped my mouth. Could this be some animal? What animal could it be, and how did it get into my house? How dangerous is it? I was generally clumsy around animals and could not handle them well. To top it, it was dark! I was not sure if the “light bulbs” was less risker than an attacking robber. The light switch was on the wall opposite to where the “light bulbs” was. What if it attacks me when I turn by back to it and went to switch on the light? The potential of hurting my feet by the broken glasses appeared to be smaller than an attack by an animal whose size I was not even sure of. I slowly reached the wall with the switch, all the while facing the “light bulbs”. I felt very lucky: There was no broken glass beneath my feet. Nor did the “light bulbs” move from its location although it did seem to be noticing every move I made. I could not be sure if “light bulbs” was more wary of me, as I was of it. I managed to switch on the light, and there it was – the monster that had scared me out of my wits – the friendly neighborhood kitten. I heaved a huge sigh of relief and I could feel my pounding heart slow down a bit. Looks like the little kitten had somehow squeezed its way through the window grills and slipped inside. Something for me to take care of. While getting on the table, the “light bulbs” had tripped the glass by accident, which caused the entire commotion in my heart. After the noise of the glass breaking, the scared kitten had got down to the bean bag under the table and sat on it. So I could not make out the size of this little fella and was just as scared. Anyways, I was glad this ended well. I let the kitten out of the house and went back to sleep. I hope he does not haunt me in my dreams!