I wrote this piece this morning as part of a longer chapter which will be titled Safe Keeping. It scared the Hell out of me, writing it. Maybe that's what it was supposed to do.

It made more sense to me once I fugured out what "it" was.

        I stood there, staring out the window into the darkness, when a face suddenly materialized before me. The house was silent, and yet I heard no sound of the man who had mysteriously appeared. He turned away from the window and I could see him walking around the house toward the front door. Anxiety rose up in my throat. Where was I? The room was unfamiliar, and I had no idea why I was there. I heard the front door open, and waited with dread until the man came walking through the doorway into the room. He wasn't physically imposing, and he had a slight smile on his face, but there was something threatening about him. "Where is it?" he asked. "Where is what?" I answered. Once again he asked, "Where is it?" "I have no idea what you're talking about, I said. "There's no sense in pretending like you don't know, I want it." I still had no idea what "it" was, but even if I did, I decided that I wouldn't want to give it him. As he started moving toward me, the smile turned more menacing. I noticed a baseball bat propped up in the corner, and reached over to grab it. "There's no sense resisting," he said. "Give it to me." "I'll give it to you, all right, but it may not be what you want," I said, raising the baseball bat over my shoulder. As he stepped forward, I took a swing for the seats, and hit him squarely on the side of his head. The force of the impact sent shockwaves up my arms and across my back, yet he stood there completely unaffected, with that same sweet, sick smile on his face. He took a few more shorts steps toward me with his hand outstretched, and I let him have it again, this time with all the strength that I could muster. Despite the force of the blow, he showed no signs of discomfort. I was the one who was hurting now. One more step and another swing, and I realized that I had no way of stopping him. And then he stopped, and as suddenly as he had appeared, he turned and left the room. I could hear him as he closed the front door and for a moment, the house was plunged back into silent darkness. Only the faint light through the picture window illuminated the room.

        As I stood there, trying to understand what had happened, I heard the front door opening once again, and my heart was filled with dread. As she came around the corner and entered the room, I leaned the baseball bat back against the corner cabinet. I couldn't imagine hitting a woman with a bat, no matter how evil she might be. I could see that I was on my own. She was a tall women, dressed in what used to be called Toreador pants and a short jacket. She was thin and angular, and her body moved in sections, as if she wasn't used to inhabiting it. Rather than threatening me, she spoke in a sweet, reasonable, comforting tone. "I'm sorry about how that man acted," she said with a slight smile. "There was no need to threaten you." I'm sure that I can offer you a generous compensation if you will sell it to me." I still had no idea what "it" was, but I was no more inclined to sell "it" than I was to let someone take it away from me. She said, "I'll give you much more than it is actually worth." When I told her that I had no intention of parting with it, her voice took on a hard, cruel tone. "You'd be wise to take my offer, because if you don't accept it, I will just have to take it away from you." By then, I was getting angry. I realized from my experience with the first man that there was no way that I fight the woman. I had no idea who she and man were, but there were certainly not of this earth. "Before I'd give it to you, I'd destroy it," I answered, and I could see that she was getting very angry. "Or maybe I'll just give it to someone else," who you don't know, and it will be someone that I know would never give it to you, even if you found them." "Oh, I'd have no trouble finding," answered. "No one is strong enough to resist me." "Well, I am!" I spoke, my voice rising to it's highest as I stared directly into her eyes. She shrugged her shoulder and said, "I'll give you time to think it over, but I'll be back to collect it." As she angled her way across the room, my strength drained from me. I had spoken out of anger and fear, but I knew that deep in my heart, no one could resist her for long. Certainly not me.

        I stood there alone in the darkened room, my mind racing. Who could I give it to who would protect it, who was invulnerable to temptation or threats of violence. Not a soul came to mind. And then the warning bell of my cell phone went off, notifying me that the battery was low, and I woke up.