Scaredy Cat

I am one big Scaredy Cat. Always have been. I am absolutely terrified of the dark. Maybe not the dark so much as being alone in the dark. Chalk it up to one more side-effect of a twin and not being accustomed to being alone. Who knows. But man, that thick, enveloping, black stuff called the night, gives me the creeps. So on evenings when my vapor-slashing knight in shining armor is out working late, I cower and cringe until he comes to my rescue.

Usually I'll just sit on the couch and watch t.v., waiting and hoping that any minute he will come through the door. This often continues until way too late because I am unable to move from the fear. But when the hours continue to tick by and I know the best place for me would be in bed, then I summon up my courage and attempt to make the rounds in preparing the house for sleep as well.

But sometimes the lights in the basement are on. That is my double adversary. If there is anything that can scare me more than the dark, then it is a dark basement. {This fear is most likely due to my older brother, whose bedroom lair was in our basement and he would guard it with animal roars and ghost-like boos if he heard us creeping down the stairs for a visit}.

So when it comes time for me to turn off the lights in our basement, I do it in a Flo-Jo sprint and hurdle back up the stairs. Or sometimes I just don't do it at all. Too frightened. I hurry up to my bedroom, strip off my clothes and earnestly throw pjs on. Then, with much apprehension, I flip the switch and jump into bed and under my covers. With my heart still racing, I will try to find some calm and then perhaps, drift into dreamland.

But mostly I just wait, like the damsel in distress that I am, until I feel the warmth of his arms encircle me. Then I relax. The world is bright again and I am safe.