Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap.
I was awoken from my sleep.
“What is that sound?” I said to myself.
It didn’t seem to be coming from inside my room.
I looked over to my alarm clock. The time glowed 2:05am. It was late – very late.
Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap.
There it was again. It seemed to be coming from outside.
I slowly entangled myself from my bedclothes and wandered over to the window. There was a full moon. It shone brilliantly in the sky casting a stream of light over the back garden. My eyes searched around looking for the source of the tapping noise. I looked over at the fence and the fuzzy clump of bushes. There didn’t seem to be anything out there.
Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap.
I heard the sound once more.
My eyes followed the tiled footpath down to the old shed. There was a light on inside it! It wasn’t a very bright light, but it was a light nevertheless. It actually seemed to be moving inside the shed, like it was bobbling up and down.
Who could be in there at this time of night? Was it Flora?
Was it Mum?
This might be my best chance to see what is inside that shed, I told myself. My curiosity got the better of me again. I couldn’t help myself. I decided I would investigate it.
I grabbed my blue jacket and my tiny pocket torch that I kept under my pillow and slowly eased open my bedroom door. The house was silent. Not a sound could be heard. I carefully tiptoed out of my room towards the stairs. I could see Millicent sleeping in her bed as I crept down the hall. The doors to Mum and Flora’s bedrooms were closed like they would be if they were asleep inside. Straightaway I realised that if Millicent, Mum and Flora were all asleep then it had to be someone else outside in the garden shed. But who could that be?
I eased my way down the staircase. Moonlight flooded in from the windows above lighting my way. As I approached the bottom I remembered that George was sleeping downstairs. I didn’t want to wake him, even though Flora had said that his hearing wasn’t as good as it used to be. He might suddenly stir and start barking. He could wake the whole house. I had to be really quiet.
I looked over towards George’s bed in the corner of the living room. He was there fast asleep. I could hear him snoring. He snuffled a little but didn’t notice me as I passed him. I think he was having a doggy dream.
I crossed the living room into the kitchen and opened the backdoor, being extra careful with the doorknob. It creaked just a little as I turned it.
As I opened the door the coldness of the night air wafted over me, making me shiver just a little. I then started towards the back garden, tiptoeing my way along the cold path. As I rounded the corner of the house, I saw the shed. The light was still on and it was still bobbling about.
Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap. There was the sound again.
I stopped. The sound was definitely coming from inside the shed. Who could possibly be in there?
Just as I started to move off again, I heard a noise behind me. What now?
Without thinking, I spun around quickly to investigate what it was and found George behind me. I gulped. I wasn’t sure what the big dog would do. I put my finger to my lips to quieten him.
“Shhh George,” I whispered.
Leaving George where he was, I then started towards the shed again. I made no noise. All I could hear was my heart starting to pound beneath my pyjamas. I took a few more steps. I was just a few metres from the shed when …
Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap.
I stopped in my tracks. My heart pounded faster.
Next thing I knew, George was right by my side. I could feel his warm woolly coat next to my hip and leg. He then walked a few paces on. I could tell that he had the shed and the moving light in his sights.
“George, come back here!” I whispered, “George!”
But George didn’t listen to me and kept going towards the shed. He was fixated on it. Very slowly, the fur near his collar went all rigid and stiff. He sniffed the air and then emitted a soft, but deep growl.
“Grrrr. Grrrr.”
Suddenly, a cold breeze blew out of nowhere, blowing my long fringe into my eyes. I briefly lost sight of the shed and as I tried to quickly push my fringe back I noticed that the light was not on any more. Had I been spotted? Now my heart really started pounding. What should I do now?
Straight away I crouched to the ground, hoping that anybody looking out would not be able to see me. George crept forward again, almost stalking the shed until he was directly in front of its door. He growled once more. The growl was just as soft and deep as the first.
“Grrrr. Grrrr.”
George’s fur stiffened up and his tail straightened. A mane of hair from the back of his head to the middle of his body unfurled. He looked like the lion I had first imagined him to be when we first arrived. For some reason, I didn’t find him scary now. I felt that he was there to protect me.
I took a deep breath and followed behind George. Crawling on my hands and knees up the pathway, I sidled up beside him in front of the shed door and then kept as still as I could. Then, when I felt brave enough, I carefully put my ear to the door and listened. For half a second I swore I heard the sound of a bird’s wings flapping, but I couldn’t be sure. I listened some more, but this time I couldn’t hear a thing. It didn’t sound like anybody was in there at all, but I needed to find out for certain. A little voice somewhere deep inside me told me I should knock on the door just to make sure. Even though I was a bit scared, I gritted my teeth and lightly gave the door a rap.
knock. knock.
I pulled back quickly waiting for something to happen. I tried not to breathe at all just in case I made a sound. My eyes darted over to look at George. His woolly eyeless face looked back at me.
We waited.
Nothing happened. I put my ear to the door, but I still couldn’t hear anything. “Hello,” I said softly, “Is there anybody in there?”
There was no answer. I knocked again but louder this time. Knock. Knock.
I braced myself again but I could hear nothing. It seemed that whoever was in there had gone. Maybe they had seen George and me and had run off? But to where?
Almost immediately another cool breeze swept over the garden. I pulled my jacket around me to keep warm. George put his nose in the air for a couple of seconds inhaling the gentle wind. He then walked around the shed feverishly sniffing the ground. Every couple of inches he would check the smells before moving onto the next stop. His tail was upright but his coat was back to its limp woolly self.
I stood up from where I had been sitting and surveyed the garden around me. It was completely empty and apart from the sound of the breeze rustling in the trees nearby, it was silent. It was obvious that no one was around.
I reflected on what had just happened. I definitely saw a bobbling light and I know I heard two distinct sounds. First, the tapping sound and then, the sound of a bird’s wings flapping. These were both such strange sounds.
After a few minutes, I decided there was little point in hanging around in the garden any longer so I started to walk back into the house. I stopped though when I felt something sharp dig into my bare foot just near the side of shed.
“Ouch!” I yelped quietly.
Hopping on one leg, I pulled my tiny torch out of my pocket and shone it onto my foot. Sticking out from under my big toe was a big dark red feather with a pointy black shaft. I reached down and pulled it out of my foot. I inspected the feather. I had never seen one like it before. The feather wasn’t soft like other feathers, but was stiff and wiry, and every so often along its shaft were long needle like barbs that protruded outwards.
“Where did this come from?”
I shone my torch around and then noticed another much smaller, fluffier red feather just inside the opened gap of the shed door.
“These are very strange,” I said bending down to pick up the other feather.
I shone my torch around the entrance again to see if there were other feathers, but I couldn’t see any. With the two feathers in my hands, I went back with George inside the house. The door to Flora and Mum’s rooms were still closed and Millicent was still fast asleep. I then went back to my room and crawled back into bed. I didn’t
know who or what had been in the shed, but I was determined to find out!