Friday, January 26, 2007

Haint that a shame, Part VI















Cha is running an art educator's conference at Towson University this weekend. She has thirty teachers staying at the Burkeshire Hotel across the street from us and I will likely see very little of her the next few days. As she stayed up late ironing out details and preparing materials I read in bed for an hour, and then fell asleep.

How much later I woke I don't know. I was on my right side, feet drawn up to my ass, right hand on the pillow by my head. "Cold," Cha said in my ear, cuddling closer behind me. "Cold." The house is cold. Winter has finally arrived in Baltimore after a two month delay. I stingily keep the thermostat at fifty seven degrees because I already cancelled our contract for home heating oil in anticipation of the move. I refuse to pay three hundred bucks for an oil delivery just as we leave. We have nice down comforters we bought in Frankfurt, however. It could be twenty degrees in the house and I would never notice.

She kept cuddling and rubbing against my back each time I approached sleep. "Cold," she hissed, then feet beyond icy touched my bare ankles and I recoiled. She was making a weird noise like a mewling cat right in my ear. I got aggravated.

"Goddamnit will you stop?" I said. "Some of us are trying to sleep!" The icy cold spread from my ankles straight up my spine as Cha came in the bedroom door, letting in the glare of the landing ceiling fixture.

"Did you say something?" she asked as I jumped out of the bed, kicking blankets everywhere.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

This storyline started out as "Topper" and now it's turning into "The Haunting of Hill House." I hope you move before it becomes "The Shining."

Geoff said...

"Who was holding my hand?"

Anonymous said...

that's wayyy tooo creepy. I would never sleep in that bedroom again. It seems to me that you have atleast two apparitions in your house. The old man that seems to always stand behind whoever is on the first floor and now, this even creepier one on the second floor that mocked you while you fixed the fire alarm, and woke you up out of bed. Perhaps this one came from the guestroom where you had to take the dry wall down? You should send this stuff to the Fortean Times.

Anonymous said...

I think it just wanted to cuddle
it IS freezing outside

alicia's right though... FT would LOVE this... you could get their whole page "It happened to me..." (my favorite recurring section... it has scared me on MAY occasions)

I can't wait till you move so we can see what ghosts live in your NEW house!

:) jv

Anonymous said...

Very creepy! GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!! I'm glad you and Cha will be leaving soon! Can't be soon enough.