Trapped and Paranoid

         

          I woke up at 10:15 PM. I had to pee. I got out of bed and unlocked my door but it still wouldn’t open. I pushed it and shook it. It was locked from the outside. How the hell did that Happen? I live with my mom and five cats. I know, shut up. My mom leaves for work at 9:20 PM. But she hadn't been feeling well and she might have called in. I looked out my window and her car was gone. So, no yelling for mom to come and unlock the damn door. Why would she lock me in? That’s mean. Maybe she wanted to see if she could make me pee in my cats’ water bowl. It worked, I peed in my cats’ water bowl. I couldn’t try to get out and then pee; I had to go too bad. After relieving myself I had a scary thought. What if some one else had locked me in? What if they were waiting for me to start making noise so they could unlock the door and then shoot me or stab me? What if they had hurt my mom? Or worse, what if they had kidnapped her, or killed her?  What if her car was gone because they stole it? Now they had set a trap for me, to make sure there were no witnesses!

          Wait a minute. I need to calm down and quit thinking crazy. Why would they set a trap for me? The bolt lock is small enough they could just shoot the lock off. It’s not a big dead bolt or anything. More like a bolt that would be used for a rabbit cage. In fact the door is a cheap one made with thin material, not solid wood. If they wanted to shoot me they could fire right through the door without much trouble. Especially if they had a big gun like a forty four. Why would anybody rob us in the first place? We live in an old trailer with two cars that are more than ten years old parked in front. It's not a place that screams, "Rob us to get rich quick!" Ok, I have to quit being paranoid and think of a way out of here. “No kitties, don’t drink that.” I needed something thin that could slide between the door and the frame. Then, hopefully, I could push it against the bolt and slide it open. My biggest chisel was on the shelf. It was definitely too thick. The scissors were too thick. How about the comb? It was probably too thick. I'd have to try the tweezers. If that didn’t work I’d try the comb. For this to work I’d have to open them and stretch them out. I hate to do that. They're the best tweezers I've ever had in my life.

          I went to the door and slid the tweezers, well I guess it was a tweezer now that it was one mis-shaped piece; I slid it between the door and the frame just to see if it would fit. Luckily it slid right through. Then I took my foot and gently pushed two of my cats out of my way. One was sitting in front of the door. One was standing up with his front paws on the door. It looks like they want out as much as I do. I had to take a deep breath and tell myself to calm down. Even though the light was on, it seemed like the room was getting darker, and smaller. I bent down a little to see where the lock was. I pushed the piece of metal against it. It slipped off. I knew this process could try my patience and I might end up trying to kick the door open. But I had re-built the frame and put the trim on myself. I was proud of it, so I didn’t want to damage anything if I could help it. I took a deep breath and pushed the metal against the bolt again. Then I tried to slide the bolt back. The metal slipped off the bolt again, but this time it felt like the bolt moved a little. I did it three more times. Then I stopped and turned around. I took a deep breath and reminded myself to stay calm. Do not kick the door open. “Annie, no. Don’t drink that.” Annie is my oldest cat. Apparently she was thirsty. I was getting that way myself. I turned back around and started again. I pushed the metal against the bolt and tried to slide it just a little. I did it two more times, then I heard a little clank. The bolt had fallen down and hit the metal casing that holds it in place. I’m free!

          I walked quickly to the bathroom. I flipped on the light and washed my hands. I splashed cold water on my face. I reached for the towel then stopped. What was that noise? Was somebody else in the house? It was just the cats. Was it just the cats? Quit being paranoid. I dried my hands and face then walked back to my bedroom. I carefully picked up the water bowl, which looked more like a miniature toilet full of urine. I walked back to the bathroom, slowly and carefully so I wouldn't spill any of it. I dumped out the miniature toilet into the real toilet. I rinsed out the bowl in the sink, really well, with hot water. I closed the stopper and put a little cool water in the sink for my cats to drink. As I walked to the kitchen I looked around to see if anything had been stolen. Nothing was missing. In fact, as far as I could tell everything was exactly where it was before I went to bed. Luckily, there were no bad guys watching TV and waiting to shoot me. I grabbed a soda and took my anti-depressant with it. I know, shut up. I went back to my bedroom and grabbed my cell phone. I text my mom as fast as I could. “Why did you lock my door?” Within two minutes I got her reply. “I didn’t.” She didn't? Was she sure about that? Then who did? That was the worst, most eerie response I could've got from her.

          I like to think my mom locked my door for some strange reason. Then later she forgot about it and left for work with me still locked in my room. She also puts empty ice cube trays in the freezer. Then later if I ask her about it she blames it on me. It was either her or a poltergeist. But my mom has lived here for a little over eleven years and there’s never been any ghost like activity before. Although, a few days ago I noticed my fingernail clippers were missing. That sounds exactly like an annoying prank a poltergeist might pull. “I’ll steal his fingernail clippers. Then when he wants to trim his nails he’ll have to use the toenail clippers instead. Holy shit I‘m evil! What will I think of next?” I can almost hear him laughing. I know, shut up.