Things That Go Bump In the Night

"A creaking of the kind made by the weight carried by one foot after another along a wooden floor. I listened. I felt the apertures of my ears distend with concentration. Again: the creaking. I was waiting for it; waiting to hear if it indicated that feet were moving from room to room, coming up the passage - to my door." -pg 231

We've all had that fear of the sounds at night that we can't quite identify. Imagination becomes our enemy in the night. It produces people and things that don't exist, and definitely don't belong in our houses. The author here is experiencing one of these moments. I found it interesting that the author was a character in the story, which even included a short discussion of her life as author. Nevertheless, as in most cases, sleep evades her. In order to fall asleep, and console her fears, she tells herself a bedtime story that is unsettling to most, but in her perspective is comforting.

The story about the parents who accidentally killed their son while trying their hardest to protect him is at first quite disturbing. When considered under the author's excerpt at the beginning; however, it relates a comforting message. The story shows us how there is no reason to go overboard on protecting ourselves with extreme measures and precautions. These measures and precautions can even lead to our downfall. So don't bother setting bars over your window, the burglars will just get in anyway!! This still seems depressing. But in reality, it frees the worrier from worry. What happens will happen and you can't control it or direct it or change it. So don't spend all your money on keeping out what goes bump in the night when its just a mouse.