Skip to main content

"Persistence"

     Any good sales person will tell you that persistence is key. If something doesn't work, keep trying. You just haven't found the right people yet. Keep trying and eventually you will make your sale. Eventually, things will work out. Just keep trying. Don't give up. Keep trying. Over and over again. Relentlessly...

***

    I breathed a sigh of relief as I slumped down on my couch. The cushions enveloped me like a snug hug after my restless day of work. I rested my head against the top of the cushion and felt my body finally relax and the tension melt away. I stared up at the ceiling for a few moments before shutting my eyes and feeling relieved. After a few moments, I shifted my position slightly and sat up, grabbing my TV remote and turning it on. The television roared to life, some voices being heard as the picture started to come in. Was this some kind of a cop show?
    I changed the channel, hoping to see something that wasn't quite so loud. Something I could have playing in the background while I tried to rest a bit.
    But as I was mid-channel surfing, I heard a knock at my door. I sighed and lifted myself off the couch with a grunt. As I made my way to the door, the knocking came again.
    "I'm coming, hold on," I said. I grabbed the doorknob and threw the door open. Standing there on the porch was a man in a blue business suit. The red tie around his neck made him look more pale than he actually was. His brown, wavy hair was twitching slightly against the breeze. He was holding a dark brown satchel that seemed to be stuffed to the point it barely closed.
    He looked at me, a twisted smile on his face. He held out a hand with a flyer between his fingers. I rolled my eyes. This was some kind of a sales guy, I thought. Before the guy could utter a word, I told him I wasn't interested and shut the door...
    I began to walk away and back to my couch when the knocking came back again. Three knocks. Then it would stop. Then three more knocks. Then a pause. This loop continued as I plopped back down on the couch and tried to ignore it. Eventually he has to stop, right?
    But still, the knocking persisted. I grabbed the remote and turned the tv up in hopes of drowning him out. It worked for the most part, but this ruined any chances I had of trying to get any rest.
    Nearly ten minutes went by and I turned my TV down slightly to see if the knocking was still going on, and sure enough, it was. At this point my blood was boiling. I stood back up and peered outside from the living room window. Sure enough, he hadn't moved an inch.
    "I told you I'm not interested!" I shouted. "Go away before I call the police!"
    There wasn't a single pause as the maddening three knock loop continued. I was starting to lose my mind. How long was this guy going to keep doing this?
    In a fit of fury, I grabbed my phone and dialed the police. I told them about the sales man outside who refused to leave. Thankfully, they said they would send some people out here.
    "The police are on their way!" I shouted at the man outside. He seemed unbothered as the knocking persisted. This is where I noticed something almost unsettling. The knocking never changed. There was never any variation from when it started. You'd think after knocking for that long, the pace of the knocking would have changed, or how hard and soft they were knocking, or even the spot on the door they knocked at would have changed, but it never did. It was the exact same three knocks, then a pause, then three more knocks, and a pause. the same loop without any variation.
    Before too long, I saw red and blue lights from outside my window blinds. Finally, the cops had come to take the guy away, I thought. I heard some muffled voices outside and peered through the window. There were two cops out there, a short, chubby one and a taller one with a more muscular build. They stood behind the knocking man but the man seemed to pay no mind.
    I stepped away from the window for a moment to turn down my TV. Maybe I could hear them talking a little better. I returned to the window and was shocked at what I saw. The cops were nowhere to be seen. The cars were still there, the lights flashing, but the cars were empty. The only person I could see outside was the knocking man. I tried checking all of my windows, but saw no sign of them.
    This was reaching the point where I was now incredibly creeped out. Did the cops run away from the guy? Did he do something to them? There were so many questions floating through my head. And the most chilling one of them all, what would he do to me if I opened the door? I didn't want to wait around to find out. I made my way to the back door, hoping I could sneak out and get away from this guy. But as I reached for the doorknob, I heard that same familiar knocking. Only this time it was on the back door. My heart leaped into my chest as I backed away. As I did I realized something. That same knocking wasn't just coming from the back door. It was coming from both the front and back doors at the same time.
    This was it, I thought. Trapped inside my own home by a twisted sales man who was determined to drive me insane.
    I tried going to one of the windows, maybe I could escape through there. But as I approached, I saw that same familiar silhouette. I walked to another window. The man moved to once again block my exit. All the while the knocking from both doors persisted.
    I finally let out a cry of desperation, "Please! Leave me alone!"
    Realizing I had no way out, I walked to the front door and threw it open. "What do you want?!" I screamed.
    All at once, the relentless knocking sound ended. What I was greeted with at the door was not human. I'm not sure, even now, how to describe it. It was tall and thin. Very thin. Inhumanly thin. It's face, I think it was it's face, was twisted in a horrifying grin. And those eyes. Every time I close my eyes I can still see them, burrowing into my soul. It opened it's hand and the paper it was holding floated gently to the ground. When I looked back up at the monster, I saw it climbing up to the roof of my house.
    I ran outside to see where it was on my roof, but by the time I got out there, the monster was gone.
    Even thinking back at this story, my heart is still pounding against my chest. And every time I hear a knock, I fear for my life. Fearing that the monster had returned. As for the paper it dropped? That's the weirdest thing. The paper was blank. Just a plain sheet of white printer paper...

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

01 "A Monstrous Storm"

  The shadows crept in through the window is the dark clouds overtook the mid-afternoon sky. A feeling of dread and hopelessness flooded me, tying my stomach into a knot. Looking at the clouds, I saw a streak of purple lightning streaking across the sky until it crashed down somewhere along the skyline with a thunderous boom, followed shortly by the ground rumbling beneath my feet. It was jarring. what started as a regular summer afternoon was quickly turning into something dreadful. The nearby trees were all swaying lightly in the breeze as rain gradually started pouring down, eventually creating a curtain of turrential downpour that threatened to flood the streets. Another flash of light followed by another thunderous boom forced me to look away from the window. It was becoming far too real for me. The oncoming storm was becoming too much to bear. I walked back into my bedroom and sat in front of my television. There was a news guy standing before a weather map. He was po...

"Hooked"

T he summer can be the perfect time to get away, to unwind while kicking your feet into the cool water while the hot sun is beaming down on you. But what if the bright summer sky was hiding behind it something even darker? I had been waiting for today all week. They'd finally opened the stream up for fishing. I was a little upset at the fact they'd decided to raise prices, but I didn't care, it was a nice day outside and I wasn't about to waste it sitting inside when I could be fishing. With my tacklebox in hand and my fishing pole in the other, I made my way to my truck. I threw everything in the back seat. I was about to head to the driver's seat but hesitated when I thought about bringing my cooler. I had one in the back ready for fish, as well as housing some canisters of worms. But what if I brought one along for some drinks? After a few moments I decided it might not be the greatest idea. It would be too much to carry and I didn't trust anyone that...

"Tapping"

T here are some things we are all afraid of, whether or not we choose to admit it to ourselves. Perhaps you feel that the ocean is a safe place, yet when you arrive you find yourself fearing what may be swimming below you. What brushed up against your leg? Can they feel you trembling? Can they smell your fear? There I lay, in bed in an attempt to fall asleep. My television was sitting at a low volume as to not awaken me by surprise as I drift to sleep. I've had the unpleasant experience before. Tonight, I turned to my side, facing away from the harsh light of the television, yet still able to make out almost perfectly what they were saying. What was on right now was a couple arguing in a sitcom. I didn't care much for what they were saying, but the roar of the laugh track after every line or two was somewhat soothing to me. I was so close to drifting to sleep, when across the room there came a tapping on my window. I sat up and turned toward the window. It was pitch black...