the wind suddenly
died down
it had been
a howling hell beast
for the last couple hours
now that it stopped
it was eerie
how quiet everything went
silent
i have seen
enough horror movies
to know
this is probably
a portent
of something horrible
so
i casually got up
and reached
to lock the door
that was when
the power went out
there is nothing
more unnerving
than silence
and darkness
blanketing the house
my heart
began to pound
in my ears
i was freaking myself out

deep breaths
in
and out
in
and out
i even
closed my eyes
to facilitate the calm
though it was
the same level of black
open or closed
the pounding
became a thudding
the thudding
became something
more reminiscent
of a normal beat

that was when
i heard the sound
of breathing
from behind me
as i slowly turned
panic flaring
through my every cell
the breathing
became a chuckle
the last thing
i heard
was a gravelly voice
whisper

“Hey pal, got a light?”