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A Close Encounter

3/25/2015

7 Comments

 
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I’ve been looking for an opportunity to use a writing exercise I learned from Linda Reif called “borrow a line.”  This morning, the opening line of All the Things We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr provided a vivid memory. Thank you, Mr. Doerr.


At dusk they pour from the sky. My sister and I watch as what seems like hundreds of bats emerge from their daytime abodes, streak through the sky, and land on rooftops in our uptown neighborhood. Our parents have orchestra rehearsal, so we will be home alone tonight, but at 13 and 10 we are trustworthy. We will prove ourselves to be resourceful as well.

At bedtime we open the back door to let the cat in and make our way upstairs, my sister to her bedroom at the back of the house and me to the middle room with the cat. I sit in bed, reading, when I notice the cat staring at the ceiling, his eyes wide and calculating. Suddenly, something is flying overhead. A bird? No. A bat. I grab the cat and dash, screaming, to my sister’s room. We sit on her bed and ponder what to do. There is a telephone in our parent’s bedroom, but that is at the other end of the hall and we are too terrified to leave.  We hear the creature knock against the wall several times and then, slowly, it emerges from under the door - two beady eyes, large pointed ears flattened against a fur covered head, long black wings. We scream. We run. We shut ourselves in our parent’s room and stuff a blanket under the door.

We quickly call our neighbor, who arrives with a broom. We hear him walking through the rooms downstairs, then upstairs to my sister’s room. After some commotion he comes to get us, assuring us that our world is safe once again.

It is a close encounter I have never forgotten.


7 Comments
Natasha
3/25/2015 01:45:53 am

Oh my goodness! Your post really brought up my own memories of encounters of wild animals indoors. It made me laugh and also shiver. I love your contrast of watching them outside vs. the discomfort of having one come inside. I also love the idea of borrowing a line. I think I'll be borrowing a technique!

Reply
elsie
3/25/2015 04:40:28 am

Now that's some story! I could just picture the cat staring at the bat. Wonder how it got in the house? I've never had an encounter with a wild animal in the house. Not complaining about that.

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Diane Anderson link
3/25/2015 05:16:02 am

Your details had me there with you and your sister!

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arjeha link
3/25/2015 09:39:57 am

Wow! Sounds like it could be a scene from a horror movie. Lucky you had a good neighbor who could take care of the problem for you.

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Adrienne link
3/25/2015 09:49:07 am

What a great strategy - and a great story! You reminded me, with your choice of detail, of that Modern Family episode in which Mitchell encounters the pigeon in his home! Have you seen it? You'll love it - it may sound familiar!!

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Erin Baker link
3/25/2015 10:38:18 am

Oh my! What a story! I would have been terrified as well. I love the part where you said, "Slowly it emerges from under the door" and then you described it. It made my skin crawl! Eeek!

Reply
Carol Varsalona link
3/26/2015 01:53:16 am

Love the suspense in the story derived from one single borrowed line-an exercise worth exploring.

Reply



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