The kind of sound that has shivers down your back inside a heartbeat, neck hair bristling and a gulp in your throat that is waiting to make its entrance. There was someone in my room!
As I live in a fairly isolated place and am often alone, it
wasn't the nicest of experiences, however I am , to say the least, not your
average 63 year old...I carefully slitted my eyes open, no shadows around me,
the sound was down by the foot of the bed,
I carefully angled my neck. Bonus !
if it was a Vampyre it wouldn't get a quick snack I thought.
I scanned the
room, my eyes accustomed to starlight and moonlight could identify nothing
human.
My hand slid slowly and carefully towards the side table, on
it was the only thing I could use as a weapon...my poor Kindle was in danger of
becoming kindling of a plastic kind...but hey ho, continuous breathing was more
important than reading my books.
Gripping the Kindle in an aggressive way I
rolled off the bed taking my duvet and a pillow with me and slid under the iron
framed bed, determined to protect as much of me as possible,
I scooted round on the
marble floor with a swoosh as the duvet slid obligingly with me and...I turned
on the Kindle...bright light flooded across the tiles and I prepared to defend
myself, eagerly seeking the stealthy intruder and he/she/it/they were
there...right before my eyes............FROGS !!!!!!!
Across the cool tiles were 5 baby frogs and a Palmate Newt
also in the baby class. They had erupted from the tiniest of holes in the far
corner of the room and spread their way across the room, halting were the
underfloor heating began, and their strange black eyes stared at the light,
mesmerised..
More were emerging from the hole in the tiles, along with evidence
of some kind of underground water system that had begun to emerge through the
old barn wall, I was invaded.
I have never laughed so much in my life, the little frogs
and their friend the newt were carefully captured and put in an ice cream tub
to be carried down to one of the ponds on the estate. Relief I wasn't facing a
denizen of the Night ! and the many incongruous challenges of living in the
wild country of Devon flooded my mind.
I sleep now with that tub awaiting further deliveries, each
evening I scoop a half dozen frogs and a couple of newts into the tub and take
them to their new home, and now I have a truly awesome problem..but at least it
wasn't Vampyres.
