OUTSIDE MY WINDOW

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW

..who’s there..

?????

I heard my dog’s low growl. Being a happy and content pup, she rarely growled or barked. That night, however, as she crouched with her belly close to the floor, she growled.

“What’s wrong, Enyo?”

She looked up at me and whimpered. Instinctively, I gently picked up the little pup, and holding her close, said, “It’s okay, baby. Whatever it is, I’m sure we can fix it.”

Enyo, wriggled a bit, indicating she wanted to be put down. I accommodated her and watched as she stared at the window and growled again. Looking in the same direction, I didn’t see anything but to be sure, called out, “Who’s out there? The least you could do is have some curtesy and knock on the door.”

There was no response.

Enyo stayed in her guard dog position for a few more minutes, then slowly got up, walked to the kitchen, and slurped up a few licks of water.

I called my dog Enyo because when I visited the rescue shelter in search of a pet, the little apricot colored dog seemed to stand out, and stand erect, as though she was watching over the other little pups. She’d been part of a ten-pup litter whose owner, for various reasons, couldn’t keep them. I always thought it was the owner’s loss and my gain. The name Enyo is the female equivalent of the Greek War-God Ares. How fitting, I thought!

Even at six months old, she proved to be a great protector. Each time we walked outside, as soon as she saw someone approaching, she’d switch sides and make sure she walked between us. Yes, she was my self-appointed guardian.

She heard my kitchen pantry door open and knew it was dinner time. I placed her kibble in her dish and set it on the little doggie mat I’d purchased when I adopted her. She sat at the mat waiting for the approval to eat.

“You know, Enyo, you don’t need my permission to chow down. Dive in; enjoy your meal!”

She gave me a wary look, so I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Okay, Enyo. Eat!”

And she did.

I had leftover take-out from the night before and decided, rather than cook a meal that might take 30-minutes or more, I’d be satisfied with leftovers. I poured a glass of cool Pino Grigio and sat at my kitchen counter to eat my Beef Lo-Mein. I thought it tasted even better than when it was fresh. Maybe because it had been sitting in the sauce overnight. Didn’t know and certainly, didn’t care. It was yummy!

From the corner of my eye, I saw Enyo’s ears stand up and she stood stone still as if trying to decide whether or not she heard something. Keeping an eye on her, I also stilled my movements and listened. I heard nothing, and so continued eating. Enyo’s bowl was now almost empty.

“Ah, my little Greek Goddess, you were hungry, huh? How about a little treat?”

Her head snapped up at the word “treat” and she jumped once and gave a soft yelp as if to say, “Oh, definitely! Bring it on!”

Yeah, my little pooch was a joy to have around and never ceased to entertain me.

That’s when I heard what sounded like wood splitting. “What the hell?” I wondered loud enough for Enyo to hear. She growled again and just as quickly, I heard a thump outside my window.

Although a bit nervous, I still laughed at myself and said to Enyo, “You know, Enyo, that was probably a branch from that old tree. It did have that one branch that I was sure would break off during the next storm. Probably didn’t want to wait for the storm and just broke off by itself. We’ll deal with it in the morning after the sun comes up.” The tree was approximately twenty-feet from my window but, I assumed still close enough for me to hear a branch break.

Feeling a bit better thinking it was a branch, I brought my dirty dishes to the sink and since I had no pots or pans to wash, decided to clean the dishes immediately and put them in the drainboard. No point in putting them in the dishwasher and letting them sit overnight.

As I dried my hands, I saw Enyo hesitantly walk towards the living room. She was shaking. I followed her in the room, sat on the couch, and as I picked up the remote for the TV, I patted the couch and said, “Come on, Enyo. Keep my company.” She didn’t hesitate and immediately jumped in my lap. Her little body was still shaking.

Enyo started whimpering as we heard what sounded like a wolf baying at a full moon. The moon wasn’t full that night. In fact, it wasn’t due for another ten days. We also didn’t have any wolves in our area. We lived in a suburb just outside the city limits. The closest wooded area near my house was a park that was located about nine miles away and their only wildlife was comprised of a few white-tailed deer. The last wolf sighting was in the state park about three-hundred miles away, and that was four years ago.

Yet, if that was the case, what did I hear howling outside? As far as I knew, there were no feral dogs that ran through the neighborhood. We also weren’t in an area known for coyotes.

Enyo’s little body shook more violently.

I’d never seen her so frightened.

Then as quickly as it started, it stopped. All was quiet, however, I hesitated to turn on the TV. Was I paranoid in thinking I should stay quiet and listen for whatever might be outside? Maybe I should just get back to normal. Maybe I should dial 9-1-1 and let them worry about it.

Okay, good idea. I picked up my phone and thought, and just what the heck will I report? A noise? I put the phone down, picked up the remote and turned on the TV.

That’s when Enyo, in the blink of an eye, jumped off my lap and ran to the window. She barked as if her life depended on it. She growled, showed her teeth, barked some more.

I’ll admit she scared the heck out of me. Okay, so maybe my dog didn’t scare me but what I couldn’t see, and she heard did.

Then I saw it. Just a small flicker.

I saw a shadow begin to pass by my window. It was so close, almost as if he could reach out and touch the glass. The shadow stopped and turned as if he were trying to look inside.

That’s when I dropped the remote, picked up my phone and completed the call to 9-1-1.