Snowbound

A man's demons come back to haunt him and his wife

Lionel squinted through the blinds of their vacation cabin into the blowing snow. He flinched when Julia turned on the light; he hissed: "Turn that thing off!"

"Nellie," she said, using his pet name. "What on earth is wrong with you tonight? You're acting all… I don't know, keyed up, restless." She paused. "Honey," she continued more gently, "You're acting paranoid again. Have you stopped taking your—"

Lionel crossed the room in three quick strides and turned off the lamp, almost knocking it off the end table. He whispered again, urgently. "Damn it, Jules! Stop backlighting me; I don't think it's safe to be seen!"

Julia sat down, looking suddenly tired. "Oh, Nellie. Not again."

"I'm not going crazy, Julia. There's something out there! Come over here and see for yourself!"

"No, Lionel. I'm not going to look. There's nothing there," she said wearily. "There never has been; I thought you had made peace with that." She looked over at the kitchen table and saw his pill bottle was on its side, the pills scattered across his placemat.

Julia went to the stairs and stood quietly for a moment. Then she murmured gently. "Come to bed, Lionel. I need you in here with me.

He looked at Julia, took another anxious peek out the window, and reluctantly followed her upstairs.

@-----@-----@

Julia wrapped her robe tighter around her. It was cold this morning. She opened the blinds and looked out on a beautiful fresh snowfall. But she didn't notice the snow; she only noticed the large, misshapen tracks immediately outside the window. And on the window itself, a large muddy handprint. But maybe it's not mud, she thought. It looks too red for mud!

She felt she owed Lionel an apology… once they were on the road back home!

NOTES: ▼

Word Count: 298
Submitted for "Daily Flash Fiction Challenge" 
Prompt: Use the phrase "There's something out there"