Something Thumping...

I heard a thumping then, as we were all inspecting the basement, and suspected it to be my heart. As a child I had imagined myself in possession of the weakest of constitutions, and dared not ever do anything that might frighten me. I talked myself too often, I suppose, out of taking the chances that develop the mind, body, and soul into peak condition. But, after years of watching children who played with my toys take such risks, I had sworn to obtain that kind of adequacy of which they all seemed to possess. The thumping continued, and I dared to confront it, opening a closet to find an old boiler, apparently the heating unit for the house, throwing up some sound in an attempt to pump warmth through the place.

No warmth could come out, however, as there was nothing to power the furnace. Indeed, it seemed strange--- all of a sudden-- that lights should be on and working in such an old house. I dared myself not to think of such things, but did remark to Robert that we would need to overhaul the power of the place. I wanted both a line to the most local power plant and a generator to back up our power, should anything happen. At least, I think, I was as forward thinking as to know that in the middle of the country, as far away from the city as the house was, we would need some sort of back up in our endeavour. It would not be enough.

After exploring the overgrown and weed-eaten basement, I dared to journey back above ground and find the large dining room, a hallway that seemed to stretch further than any I had ever seen, set still with some old supper.

“We’ll need to clean this out first,” I instructed. Robert wrote down each instruction I gave on a little notepad, carefully scribbling shorthand all my desires. I could not read the look on his face and dare not think what he might have imagined as he followed orders. He never was one to wear his emotions on his sleeve and it seemed to me that some lover’s in his past, after finishing their business with him, may well have thought him heartless. I never could guess his mind-- even after living in close quarters.

Though I had only seen the basement and the long dining hall I could feel an attachment to the house growing. It reminded me somehow of the house of my childhood: wide windows opening to a large amount of land. To press the point home, it seemed, Nature herself delivered a sudden thunder shower of the kind not uncommon in that part of the country, in that part of the year. This was the same kind of shower that I remembered from my childhood, and I almost found myself scurrying underneath a table, as I did when I was a child, to hide from the rain-- starring out at it in wonder and fear. I used to think, in those youngest of days, that there were people out in the rain: not people like you or I, put people made of the rain, water-shadows, that could only live their lives when it poured down and peals of thunder like giant’s bowling strikes rang throughout the world. Something of that atavistic impression ran inside my skeleton on that day and I would have hidden, as I knew I must have, if I had not turned around into the waiting arms of my wife.

For she was terrified too. Each peal of thunder made her whimper with stress, and it became clear that though we shared the same sense of the darkness of the downpour, it would be my job to place the face of bravery on my face as a mask against the darkness.

“I do not like the rain nor thunder,” she said, as I stroked her hair.

“It will be all right,” I said. The shower will end soon, and then we will survey the outside of the house. “There is nothing to fear here.”

It was at that point that Roman, rejoining us from somewhere else in the house, with Miss Gilda following him fairly closely, chose to close the large door that opened into the living room. The door closed with a loud thud. My wife began crying into my chest.

“Now why would you do that?” asked Robert.

“It’s all right,” I said, again attempting to comfort my wife-- but also attempting to comfort myself.

“Should we stay here and stare out into the rain? Or explore the house until the storm dies down?” he asked.