Afraid of the dark

It was 2am and the house was quiet. Ironically, the wind outside my window fought to come in. The whistling sound it made seeped through and engulfed me where i lay on my bed. I was too old to be scared of the dark but too young to be unafraid. The power was out again. My room was getting hotter by the second. Opening my window would bring the Sahara dessert floating into my room. My only option was to go downstairs and turn on the generator. 

I contemplated braving the heat and falling asleep. Discomfort wouldn't let me. As thoughts of walking through the darkness swept through my head, my door crashed open. Silent screams are the loudest. Logic said there was an open window in the house. My eyes disagreed. I had seen the shadow run across the hallway.  "Nonso, you're too old for this" i told myself repeatedly. I got up and walked slowly towards my room door, there was a crash.

The door had shut with as much force as it had opened. I jumped back. Living alone had enabled me learn every noise familiar with my house. Tonight, i heard none of those noises. My neighbor's floodlight cast light on my bed. The rest of my room was dark. The rechargeable lamp was downstairs, my phone battery had died an hour ago. i had to feel my way to my room door. I finally felt it and flinched as i grabbed the cold metal handle. I opened the door and walked into the hallway. 

I had barely taken two steps when i heard something fall at the end of the hallway. That was the direction of the stairs. It sounded heavy. I took a reflex step back towards my room. That was my safe point. Everything beyond my doorway seemed unknown. I did the sign of the cross and walked forward. The closer i got to the  stairs, the faster my heart beat. At this rate i would surely die from a heart attack before i reached the stairs. 

I felt my way in the dark like a blind man and finally felt the stair railing. I wrapped both palms around it and i had already taken my first step down before i screamed...