The Man on the Stairs It was a tiny sound but it woke me up because it was a human sound. I heldmy breath and it happened again, then again; it was footsteps on the stairs. I triedto whisper, There's someone coming up the stairs, but my breath was cowering, Icouldn't shape it. I squeezed e!in's wrist in pulsing units, three pulses, then twopulses, then three pulses. I was trying to in!ent a physical language that could enterhis sleep. "ut after a while I realized I wasn't e!en squeezing his wrist, I was #ustpulsing the air.$hat's how scared I was; I was squeezing air. %nd still the soundcontinued, the man coming up the stairs. &e was walking up in the slowest possibleway. &e had all the time in the world for this, my god did he ha!e time. …show more content…
2ike maybe he's disabled, or !ery old. *rmaybe#ust really tired. Maybe he's already killed e!eryone else on the block andnow he's all worn out. In moments I can almost see him, leaning against thebanister, his eyes swimming in the darkness. My eyes are open too. e!in's eyes areshut, he is so far away and he always will be. $he silent pause stretches longer andlonger and gradually I wonder if the man is there at all. $he only sound is e!inbreathing. )hat if I spend the rest of my life in this bed, listening to e!in breathe."ut lo. % strong and certain creak issues from the stairwell and what I feel is thrillingrelief. &e is really there, he is on the stairs, and he is coming closer in his ownbreathtakingly slow way. If I li!ed to see daylight I would ne!er forget this lesson incare. &e was putting more care in to hunting me than I had e!er put into anything inmy life. %nd it was worth it, because he had earned my admiration. I don't thinkanyone has e!er admired me the way I admired him. )hat if I were to spend thismuch time listening to Marilyn, what would happen+ Maybe she would adore me andthen I would respect her and we would both become professional #azz singers or atleast reckless but safe dri!ers. Maybe. Maybe the man on the stairs would come inour car with us and when he looked scared by our reckless dri!ing I would hold hishead close to my lips and