ONLY UNTIL DAWN

Dark night and quiet
Not even a rustle of the trees
In breeze; very still.
She turned on the light
And went to the kitchen
To make a cup of coffee.
Strange, she thought,
To be alone in the house
After so many years
Of having him there.
It had been a nice funeral,
As funerals go -
Family and friends had left
To go back to their lives,
She must continue with hers.
Coffee made, she took the cup
Into the living room and
Turned on the television.
No matter what was on
It was better than
Not hearing any sound.
But wait - there was something,
A furtive moment when
A sound leapt to her ears,
Someone was outside
On the deck.
She picked up the phone
To call for help,
But the phone was silent,
Had he cut the cord?
Gathering her courage,
She called out -
No answer came, just silence
Once again no tell-tale
Sound or movement.
Imagination, she thought.
Then she saw the doorknob turn
And a stranger stepped
Into the room.
His leer chilled her;
She reached into the side
Of the sofa where she sat,
Brought up the gun
And pulled the trigger -
He fell, no leer now!
She watched as he lay there
Blood had stained the carpet,
And he really was in the way
But it didn't matter,
She would not move out of this room
Tonight, she would watch
For any sign of life.
No one will ever hurt me again
She said to herself.
Years of abuse had ended
With the funeral,
She was free at last.
Tomorrow she would get help
And then get out of there.
She cried.
She had to wait
Only until dawn
And she had waited before
The bullet meant for her
Had saved her life.