I walked down a suburban neighborhood yesterday. Dogs being walked as the sun was setting, pedestrians sharing hellos and waving at home owners that watered their perfect lush lawns. Down the road a seen a gathering of people. My curiosity got the best of me so I hurried along to be nosey. The crowd was yelling in a yard of an unkempt two story home.
Vines grew on every faded, paint chipped side of the house. The yard had been bombarded with weeds. Windows boarded shut as well as the front door. "We have to get inside!" I heard a man yelling. The crowd seemed panicked so I asked the closest guy next to me what was going on. "That little girl is trapped, she's in trouble!" He said frantically. I looked to the second story window and there she was. Crying. Crying in such a panic that it chilled my bones, as if she's looked into the eyes of a monster. She looked as she hadn't slept in weeks, wirey black hair that looked like it would break the teeth of a brush. I noticed patches missing as if someone pulled it out by the fist full. She wore a night gown that looked very outdated, torn and tattered with stains of blood.
I felt so ill that I wanted to grab a ladder myself to save her. But then as quickly as a blink of an eye, I seen someone in the room with her. Behind her stood a man. Pure black. Formed from a shadow itself it seemed, I couldn't make out his features. He placed his hands on the girls shoulders and she bawled. She screamed and shook her head "no" but no one heard a sound pass through the glass. I needed to do something.
I couldn't endure the sight any longer. The crowd passed a ladder around and I took charge. As if this child was my own I forced the ladder from everyone and set it up and made my way to the top. I climbed every step of that ladder, but it seemed never ending. My muscles ached, my legs were wobbling, the damned ladder seemed to be stuck in a time warp. Every second seemed like a minute, but I made it.
I finally made it to the top and began to pry the window open. The man was no longer there but the window wouldn't budge. I looked at her to assure her I would save her at all costs. The look in her eyes shook me. I felt paralyzed and the emotion of fear took over my body. I stood there, frozen. I could see her screaming "please" over and over. I snapped out of it then he appeared again. Like the devil himself, his eyes seemed like they lead to infinity. He covered her mouth with one hand, then her eyes with the other. She seemed calm. Almost hypnotized. Then it hit me.
She wasn't begging to be saved, but to be left alone. WE were the monsters she was afraid of. I abandoned my heroic mission. Defeated. Confused. Hurt. Lost. I climbed down the ladder and told everyone to leave. As I walked away I turned to see her and it was just as the sun had finally set that I seen her smile. She was content again. She was safe. Away from the monsters of the world. I was the monster in the window.
