Now when I say below, I mean the dark depths of what I personally hate….. the basement. That dark, damp, cold spot in this dwelling that no one wishes to go. You play rock, paper, scissors with your spouse to see whose turn it is. Even with the light turned on, you’d swear you are being watched from the shadows by something more sinister than you wildest nightmares could ever concoct.
You flick the light on at the top of the stairs, and inhale a deep breath before you descend into the dim lit room. All the while you pray that the door at the top of the stairs doesn’t mysteriously close behind you, just in case you need to make a quick run for your life.
You scan the area, hoping you wont see anything move out of the corner of your eye. Of course though, you do. The work bench is covered with all sorts of junk that can create any number of shadows across the room. Your eyes play tricks on you, as you make your way across the room. You start to sweat, your heart racing with every step. With every beat, your breathing intensifies, until you are finally across the room, and standing in front of the washing machine.
Now it’s time to get to work. Get the clothing into the washer, as fast as you can. You can’t keep looking over your shoulder, while you need to get clothes clean. You try to stay focused, but your ears are on full alert, and of course you hear every little thing. The clink of a pipe, the wind outside. All of a sudden, BANG, right out of nowhere. You jump 10 feet in the air. You spin around, trying to figure out what ghoulish creature is coming to take your soul to the underworld. That it you finished, or so you think. That’s when your lovely cat comes sauntering along after knocking over a bag of recyclables with her tail. She comes over so softly and rubs up against your leg and then slowly makes her way back upstairs.
By this time you are clutching the washer, your knuckles have gone white, and you have one hand over your heaving chest, trying to catch what little air you have left back into your lungs. This is about the moment you ask yourself why the hell did you ever get a cat.
Back to the task at hand. You now have the clothing out of the dryer and in the basket to carry back upstairs. One foot in front of the other, trying to remember, you are the adult here, you make your way back across the room with a full laundry basket of clean clothes to take upstairs to fold.
Even as you get to the top of the stairs, you still mini dash to the other side of the door, and shut it quick with one foot. You can finally breathe a sigh of relief. You made it out of the basement alive for another day.
Not today Underworld, not today demons.
Crystal 