I always wait for my son to return home before darkness falls
They were late by just one minute
I started yelling at the kids
I quickly grabbed their hands
Dragged them running into the house
Once inside we began our daily lockdown ritual
Every window every door had to be secured tight
We moved like a military unit
This was coordination built from fifteen years of training
Only after confirming safety could we sit at the dinner table
Because whenever night descended
The outside world no longer belonged to humans
I could hear distant howling sounds
Feel the evil presence in the air
We had just relaxed preparing to eat
Suddenly a loud crash came from outside the door
Not wind sounds not tree branches
Something was ramming our door
The children looked at me in terror
You know what's strange about life? One day you're counting your success in dollars and achievements, the next you're measuring it in moments and memories. Sometimes I wonder if this new path, this different version of me, isn't exactly where I was meant to be.
