Meow? Please?

I understand that it's late and my perception can be skewed when I'm up at odd hours, but seriously, 1:26 AM isn't that odd. The problem here is that I want to sleep, I actually want to close my eyes and drift into slumber but the company I have is keeping me up.... Mind you, this is unwelcome company. For some reason my heart is racing and I'm actually scared. The dry leaves outside my basement window are crunching right now and there is a weird scratching noise. I'm sure it's just a cat. We always have cats in the yard at my parents' house. Come on-- it's farm town, USA.

Here's the thing though: I've been there done that. The whole assuming that the sound I'm hearing is a stray animal did me absolutely no good in the past.

I know this is just a little critter. But the semi-flashback I am having to those multiple nights I lay in bed, shaking, unable to sleep, wondering if I should call the police... but ultimately telling myself it was a stray dog... what a shame. It wasn't a dog. It was a creep. Multiple nights I spent in my bed there listening to the slow crunch of leaves in the backyard, wondering if it was just an animal but too afraid to look because the intruder had been there before and I was in denial that he would come back. I guess maybe there are lingering effects somewhere deep in my psyche.

Bah humbug. It's just a cat.

Or not.
Or not again.