Aphelion Issue 298, Volume 28
September 2024
 
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The Unknown Man

(this is true)

by Lanaia Lee


Rain in torrents, very sharp lightening
The thunder roars as if someone playing a drum
Getting ready for bed not really thinking a thing
As I am so sleepy I actually feel numb.

Pulling back the cover from the inviting bed
My grandmother and I hear a knock
Who is at the door? In the dead of night
So with shoeless feet only in our socks
We go to the door and turn on the porch light
We checked and made sure the screendoor was locked.

Here stands a well dressed man soaking wet
Asking for shelter from the blinding rain
A boarding house we had, on what happened next we did not bet.
After what we experienced I wondered if we were insane.

My grandmother said sure we will help
Get you dry and out of the wet
Then all of a sudden I let out a horrifying yelp
What had we just met?

The man was gone in thin air
Was he a ghost? A demon of the night?
Was he from the devil's lair?
We will never know, but from now on we'll keep on the light.


© 2003, 2007 Lanaia Lee

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