Rich. Rich. Rich!!!
came the shrill yell outside of my room.
The yell quickly made its way into my room when my mother opened up the door and continued yelling the same words. I got up quickly, instantly aware of the smoke in the hallway outside of my room. Thoughts of homelessness entered my mind as I quickly mapped out escape routes in my head. But then my mom kept freaking out, saying things like, He was standing right over me. He could have raped me.
The smoke in the hallway quickly cleared away. It was simply a fog created by eyes so quickly overwhelmed by light.
I ran towards the front door because my mother said that that is were the guy escaped. I ran out with full intent of chasing the guy and showing him my brand of street justice. When I reached the front door, I saw him rounding the corner towards a parking lot. It would have been futile to chase after him. He would have the advantage of being able to hide behind cars. Possibly, he was armed and I was barefoot. Not a favorable combination.
I ran back inside and ran downstairs, to the basement, to wake up my brother. Fear crept in as I realized that I was leaving my mother alone upstairs. I wonder what thoughts must have crept through her mind as she lay in bed, face to face with a would be burglar, rapist, or who knows what else. I woke up my brother, and as I did, I noticed tears coming out of my eyes. I was not quite sure if I was actually crying or if my eyes were tearing due to my sudden awaking. Nonetheless, I wiped them off my face and went back upstairs.
A second way of bravado surged through my body and I ran to the parking lot behind my house. I walked around for a couple of minutes, hoping that whoever had entered my home would show his face. That was a wish that would not come true. After several minutes, I turned back around and came home. I sat in the dining room with my brother and my mom and worked at comforting her out of her flustered state as well as trying to comfort myself.