“That was a great dinner, baby.” Carlos Ruiz pushed his chair back from the table.

“Thanks, I’m glad you liked it,” Michele said as she started to clear the table.

“Do you need some help with those?”

“No, that’s okay. Your show is about to come on. Go on into the living room. I’ll take care of this.”

He gave her a kiss on the cheek, grabbed a beer from the fridge, and left the room.

Michele hummed to herself, carefully stacking dishes in the sink. She gazed out the window while she rinsed a plate. The sun was going down and she loved the way their backyard looked at dusk. In the fading light, the trees cast beautiful shapes on the lawn.

The sky swirled with colors as darkness slowly claimed the day. A few rays of sunlight broke through the clouds, struggling to stay on the plane for as long as they could.

A movement near the back fence caught her eye. She could just make out a dark shape sliding over the top as the light from the sun died away. Without help from the sun’s rays, she found herself staring at her own reflection in the window.

What was that? Am I imagining things?

Michele reached for the light switch on the left of the sink, turning it off so she could see outside.

Squinting, she leaned over the sink and pressed closer to the window, scanning the yard for anything amiss. At last, a dark mass emerged near the base of the fence.

Is that a dog?

She watched intently as the mass started to move. The shape stretched and grew until it took the form of what looked like a man.

Is my mind playing tricks on me?

The figure was tall and thick, but the shadows seemed to cling to it, preventing her from making out more detail.

Michele shielded her eyes with her hand, pressed still closer to the window in an attempt to see what the thing really was. The moon punched holes in the cloud that covered it, spilling light into the yard. She gasped when the shadows were chased away to reveal a face smiling at her from across the yard.

The figure ran toward the house at a full sprint and threw himself against the window. She shrieked and stumbled backwards, sending dishes shattering on the floor. She could hear the man laughing as he pressed his face against the glass, fogging the window with his breath. The wild look in his eye told her that he wasn’t going to go away.

“What’s wrong? Are you all right?” Carlos called from the living room.

“Carlos!” she screamed in panic. “Get in here!”

He ran into the kitchen and flicked on the lights. He stared at the broken dishes in the floor, and turned to her as she cowered beside the refrigerator.

“What happened?” he asked softly, kneeling down to her. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Look at the window.” She pointed with a trembling finger to the other side of the kitchen.

His head snapped in that direction, but only a reflection of the room greeted him.

“Turn off the lights; there’s someone out there,” she whispered, breathing heavily.

Carlos did as he was instructed, but the window was still empty.

“There was someone out there,” she cried. “I swear to you. You can still see the fog where he was breathing on the window.”

He nodded thoughtfully and walked out of the kitchen.

“Where are you going?” she asked frantically.

“To check it out.”

“Don’t go out there,” she pleaded, rising from her hiding spot. “Just call the cops, Carlos.”

“Nah, there’s no need to bother them. It was probably just some kids goofing around.”

Michele followed him to the living room, wringing her hands. “It wasn’t a kid. I saw him. It was a man, a big man.”

“Then he is going to be sorry he picked this house to pull that ‘peeping tom’ bull shit,” he snarled as he pulled a pistol out of

his desk drawer. He checked the clip to make sure it was loaded and flicked off the safety

“You don’t have to do this,” she said, pulling on the sleeve of his shirt.

“Yes, I do. This is my home. I’m not going to let some nutcase make us afraid to be here.”

“Don’t leave me by myself.”

“Look, if we let him know we are afraid, he’ll just keep coming back. There are some sick people out there that really get off on this shit.”

“But I am afraid. Please, just call the cops.”

“If we wait for the police to get here, he will definitely get away.”

“How do you know he isn’t already gone?”

“Well, I guess there is only one way to find out.” He winked, stopping to kiss her before he slipped out the front door.

She pushed the door shut behind him and moved to the window, watching her husband search the front yard. She closed the curtain when he disappeared from sight. Pacing in the living room, she felt panic threatening to take over. Her imagination ran wild.

Footsteps rang out on the front porch and she froze. When the door didn’t open immediately, she grabbed the phone. I don’t care what he says. We need the police. They get paid to take care of—

Suddenly, the door swung open, causing her to scream and drop the phone.

“Calm down. It’s just me.” Carlos laughed. He closed and locked the door behind him.

“Was he still out there?”

“No, I didn’t see anything out of the—”

Michele’s scream interrupted him.

“What the hell?”

She crumpled to the floor pointed behind him. “Be—behind you,” she managed.

Michele watched in impotent terror as her husband spun around and leveled the gun at the stranger’s head with lightning speed. But before he could squeeze the trigger, his hand yanked violently downward and the gun clattered to the floor. He rubbed his arm as he stared at the man, who hadn’t moved a muscle.

“How did you do—?”

The man punched him in the side of the head, sending him crashing to the floor, unconscious.

“It’s not nice to play with guns,” the man declared with a smile.

“Please!” Michele sobbed. “Please don’t hurt us. Take anything you want.”

“Oh, I will.” He winked at her. “There’s no need to cower down there. Here, let’s get you on your feet.”

He reached down with his left hand and picked her up by her arm. When her feet left the floor, she began kicking at him.