The Company - A Short Story

The Company - A Short Story

  I had woken up to a strange sound coming from the kitchen. The shattering sound of cups and plates falling onto the ground rang in my ears. Quickly, I rose up out of the comfort of my bed and tip toed out of my room, aiming for the small closet just down the hall. I knew there was a baseball bat inside. I heard a few more plates fall onto the floor then the sound of something scurrying around. Swinging open the closet door very quietly, I took the baseball bat in my hand and started for the kitchen, raising it over my shoulder. I was ready to swing ready to swing at any given moment. As I inched closer to the kitchen, I craned my neck around the corner, peering in. A gasp escaped my mouth as I realized the intruder was a small red fox climbing around on my counters. It pushed my favorite mug off the counter and it almost seemed to give a sly grin. I furrowed my eyebrows and glared.
  My attention was taken from the fox as another sound came from my living room. I rushed over and the bat dropped to my feet. My eyes widened as I saw a small doe nibbling on my couch cushions. The sound of the baseball bat falling to the floor started her. She looked up at me with her wide, brown eyes and sprinted for the front door which had been left open. The fox jumped down from the counter and scampered out of the kitchen, not far behind the deer. I followed them to the front door and watched them both run back into the overgrown forest where they must have come from. The bushes rustled as they jumped over and through them then they were gone. I stood at the front door in awe, watching to see if they would reappear. A little part of me wished they would've, but they didn't.
  Sighing, I closed the front door tightly and made sure that it was securely locked. I turned around to see the mess in my house, heaved another sigh, and began to clean. Picking up the broken cups and plates, and sweeping them into the trash can, I heard yet another strange sound. I dropped what I was doing and let the strange sound lead the way. It lead me down the main hallway and up the creaky stairs. I followed the sound into the guest bedroom. I stood at the door with my ear pressed against it before entering. A few squeaks here and there came from the room along with a few scurrying noises. I flew open the door and saw about twenty or squirrels jumping around on the bed! I stepped in a little further before they noticed me, letting out high pitched squeals and dispersing under the bed. I gasped and ran back down the stairs to get the broom. Racing back up, I ran in and swung the broom under the bed. But nothing crawled out. I pondered for a moment before looking underneath. The squirrels were placed around in a half circle just barely escaping the broom's touch. Their beady eyes were laid on me. I gasped on leaned back from their eery stares. Again, I shoved the room under the bed and swung it uncontrollably. The squirrels squeaked and scrambled out from under the bed. The ran around the room before hopping out of the bedroom window, which was once again, left open. I chased them to the window with the broom before slamming the window just and locking it just as I did with the front door.
  How were all these animals getting inside my house? Why were the door and window left open? The answer to these questions I didn't know. I went through every room and made sure all the windows were closed and locked, every door as well. Then, I continued picking up broken cups, I re-made the bed, and I threw out the nibbled-on pillows. After fixing up the house back to its normal condition, I had to get out. Mostly to get new cups and plates, and new pillows. Before leaving, I made a second round around the house, double checking everything. Once satisfied, I stepped into my car and backed out of my driveway, closely looking at that overgrown forest through narrow eyes.
  At the store, I slowly pushed the cart around, exhausted and a little shaken up. The atmosphere of the store was quite dull. Only a few people were here doing their weekend shopping. I pulled my coat tighter around me and stood there, looking at the dishes. From the corner of my eye, I saw my neighbor approach me. She asked what a strange occurrence  it was to see me out of my house. She said that she rarely ever saw me anymore, always cooped up inside my home, alone. I gave a friendly smile and apologized. She asked if everything was okay. I nodded politely, not really wanting to talk. I told that I had somewhere to be and that I needed to get my shopping done as soon as possible. She nodded understandingly and left to continue her own shopping.
  I put a box of new dishes and mugs into my cart and continued on to the new aisle. I picked out a few pillows, knowing they didn't match the rest of the house, but I didn't want to spend much more time in the store. Throwing the pillows into the cart, I moved on to the checkout line. Of course, only one check out was open and the line was a near mile long, if not longer. I waited patiently for my turn, flipping through magazines that had little interest to me. I looked down one of the aisles and arched a brow curiously. Bags of chips were opened and scattered all up and down the aisle. Then, I noticed something rustling within the piles of chips. A red bushy tail emerged from one of the bags and swished around. The time, both of my brows rose. I put down the magazine and squinted my eyes to get a better look. The animal emerged from the bag. Of course, it was the fox. The same fox that had broken all of my mugs and plates! I glared at its sly grin. I looked around the pointed at the fox, yelling that there was an animal inside the store. A few people turned around quickly, but then frowned giving me confused looks. I frowned with frustration and watched as the fox ran up and down the shelves pushing down boxes of crackers. I told people to look. A few more turned around again to see if I was actually telling the truth. More strange looks. I became frantic. My neighbor peered over, raising an eyebrow. She stepped over and asked what I was seeing. I pointed my finger sternly down the aisle where I could see the fox seemingly teasing me by prancing around. She looked at me confused, worried, saying there was nothing there. I had gotten offended and insisted that there was a fox eating the food all over the floor. Again, she said nothing was there, but in a harsher tone. She told me to stop making up such silly stories. I glared and crossed my arms. If she didn't want to believe me, then that was fine.
  I continued through the line and slowly walked back to my old, run down car with my purchases. On my way home, I couldn't stop thinking about all the animals I had see today, especially why no one believed me. I rubbed my forehead gently, pulling into the driveway. I noticed my front door was wide open again! This time, I was furious. I threw myself out of the car, let if running and bolted inside my home. I yelled out to all the animals. A few rabbits trampled over each other out the door. Then suddenly, a loud thumping noise came down the stairs, the wood cracking. A large black bear waddled down and around me as if I didn't even exist. It walked out the door and ran across the street, back into the forest. I yelled at the top of my lungs telling all the lurking animals to get out of my house. Chipmunks, birds and a few deer trotted out from behind the furniture and out the door. I sighed and walked back out to turn off the car and to retrieve my bags. I set them on the counter in the kitchen. As I went to throw away my receipt, I looked through the trash to find perfectly fine couch cushions, and shiny plates and mugs, but they weren't broken and the pillows weren't nibbled on. No teeth marks or stuffing falling out. Even my mug was perfectly intact. I shook my head and pulled them out of the trash can while I asked what was wrong with myself. I sighed and put all the mugs and plates into the sink. I took the old pillows and tossed them on the couch along with the new ones I bought. My cupboards would now be overfilled and my couch over stuffed, unable to be sat on.
  There was a soft knock on the door. I headed over and saw my neighbor standing there with a dish in her hand. She thought I could use a good meal. She blamed my strange behavior on not getting enough food to eat. I thanked her and invited her in, which I think surprised her. I told her to take a seat on the pillow covered couch and to make herself comfortable. I watched as she set some of the pillows down on the ground while she removed her coat. While dinner was reheating in the over, I brought over two plates and some silverware, setting them ever so gently on the coffee table. I didn't have a kitchen table, nor did I have a dining room table. She gave me a smile and asked for a glass over water. I nodded and retreated back to the kitchen. I brought her her water and sat down in the sofa chair. She made small talk with me asking how work was and how she could never live by herself. She asked how I managed living by myself. I didn't know the answer. The timer went off and I rushed into the kitchen, bringing the casserole over to the coffee table. I hadn't had company for dinner in a long while. It was strange but yet almost comforting. She got me to talk more, about my life. It was strange at first, but then it became really eat and some what a relief to get those small things off my chest. I twas like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I thanked her for coming by and checking on me, and for the meal, of course. She said that she had a good time. I agreed and walked her to the door, wishing her a good night. After she left, I put the leftovers into the fridge and put the dirty dishes into the sink. I would do them later, I had decided.
  And from that night on, the animals never came back to eat my pillows or to rudely smash my plates and my favorite mug on the floor. There were no more squirrels jumping on my bed or birds flying around in the attic. They must've known that all I needed was a little bit of company. Those tricky little animals.