I’m alone again. Toby is out on patrol. I accepted that he was a police officer when he asked me to marry him two years ago. I accept that he puts his life in danger every day for public safety. I accept that the men and women he works with on the police department are, as he says, “his family.”
But I am not accepting his third stint in three months of the late night shift.
I hate being alone. I’m a rather insecure woman of an age where I should feel confident about myself, my security, and my surroundings. But at 42, I still shiver at thunderstorms and shake when a strange dog approaches during my walks.
Toby thinks that’s why I was attracted to him in the first place. I loved the idea of being with a policeman. Finally, I felt safe.
Well, I’m not feeling safe tonight. It’s dark as sin and a deep snowfall is expected. Toby’s shift won’t end until 5 a.m.
I check my watch – again. 8 p.m. Is it too early to go to bed?
I startle at the rap at my front door. Who the heck…? No one comes to our house this time of night unless it’s Toby’s partner or some of his officer-friends.
That’s probably who it is, I decide. So, I do the dumbest thing. Even dumber for a policeman’s wife.
Three men in black trousers and white shirts, dark hair and even darker eyes stare at me as if they’re as surprised as I am.
“Are you THE ONE?” they ask in unison, in a rather singsongy voice.
For some reason, I’m not frightened. Perhaps a bit confused. “The ONE?” I repeat.
One man looks at the other. “The ONE she is.”
The other man – they look almost identical, replies, “Then ask her.”
“Ask me what?” At this point I’m freezing with the open door and realizing that these guys must be following through on some prank.
The first one clears his throat. “Please explain: why are people put on this Earth.”
I begin to laugh but the chuckle is caught in my throat when I notice lights flickering above and then I spot the spaceship hovering nearby.
Spooky
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LIFE seems spooky in general right now! :-0
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Yep
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Such is a great story anyone would love to listen over and over again and you told it in a very pleasing manner..😊
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Glad you enjoyed my “men in black” story. It was fun to write! 🙂
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Chilling! Watch out for those men in black! Stay safe my friend.
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Darlene, right now no men in black in sight, but a lot of SNOW in white landed on our land last night. The spring birds are twittering in distress. Enjoy your Spanish sunshine!
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Oh no. Not more snow!! Crazy weather, crazy times. Take care. xo
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Eek! Never open the door when you are home alone!
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I’m with you, Jill.
That’s Safety 101.
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As a cop’s wife, I think she got complacent. And now…. look where it got here. Ummm, where DID it get her? 🙂
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yikes!!!
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I’m guessing that’s what she said too. 🙂
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I liked this story even before I noticed it was based on an actual 911 call. Life truly is stranger than fiction!
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That’s so true, Joanne. I needed to add the police blotter item at the end because, otherwise, readers might wonder about my “weird” imagination. Welll, they still wonder about that, I guess. 🙂
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Boy, was I relieved to eventually twig this was a story. 🙂 Well done.
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Haha. A story based on a lot of truth, it seems, Derrick. Maybe we’ll never know the ending, though. 🙂
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I want to know what happens!
I love that this is based on a real 911 call! The truth is out there. 😀
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“The TRUTH? You can’t handle the truth.” Thank you, Jack Nicolson, A Few Good Men. 🙂 🙂
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I liked the way your tale panned out, and what prompted it. But I have to say, when she opened the door it triggered a memory.
I had a friend who married a policeman. One night when he was at work, she answered a knock at the door. Opened it. And was shot in the gut. A policeman’s wife’s not the thing to be.
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Oh my gosh, I gasped when I read your comment. I would think any cop’s spouse would learn rule #1 – never answer the door. Well, I created this cop’s wife for my story, but fiction always parallels “real” life.
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The cop was involved in IRA investigations, so you know how long ago it was. And in a manner of speaking it did her a favour. While in A&E the doctors discovered she had stomach ulcers.
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Wow. ;-0
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Silver linings
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Ah, how we love them, those silver linings. 🙂
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Indeed.
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This gives me the chicken skin!
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Haven’t heard that expression in a while, Amy, and it made me smile (and feel like I’ve done my job in this spooky story). 🙂 THANKS. ❤
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I’m glad I’M not THE ONE!! Lol! ❤
Great story..
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What a great reply, Kim. Yes, perhaps being “The One” is not what it’s cracked up to be. 🙂
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You really drew me in from the beginning. Interesting that it’s based on a true story. 😳
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The local police blotter is loaded with ideas for creative writing! :-0 🙂
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I suppose it wouldn’t have mattered whether she opened the door or not. They could have just “beamed” themselves in. Well, I hope she’s not being taken to a medical lab for experimentation.
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Always love the way you think, Anneli. “Beam me up, Scotty.” 🙂
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WELL DONE!!! You pulled me on like a fireman’s boot here. I’m still grinning!! Thanks.
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What a fabulous expression! “You pulled me on like a fireman’s book.” Thanks for an excellent compliment – a writer’s goal. xo
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Yikes! Scary story…
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Scary stuff out there – even without a spaceship! :-0 🙂
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That’s for sure! #StaySafe and enjoy your weekend, Pam!
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I didn’t expect that weird ending nor the wild backstory. You have a vivid imagination Pam. Don’t open the door! 🙂
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BECAUSE of my vivid imagination, Brad, I would NEVER open that door! 🙂
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Good to know. 🙂
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Great way to dive into character to answer the prompt. Also, wild about that 911 call! Ha!
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Thank you! Yes, I don’t know why, but I could see/hear the cop’s wife in my writerly mind’s eye as I read the police blotter. I wonder where she is now….? ;-0 🙂
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Hopefully in Tahiti with her newly retired cop husband. 🙂
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I like the way you think…. 🙂
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The sequel… 😉
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And…
Toby must have a spare gun…
Get it before opening that door…
A Warrior MUST BE READY!
Tenderly, lovingly, submitted, so, there!
♥♥♥
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This woman was obviously not a WARRIOR. We know better… never open that front door! 🙂 Cheers, Billy Ray. xo
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🙂
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As always, another entertaining story. Well done.
BTW, the black sedan reference in your footnote, in conjunction with your story, reminded me of a song by the Ides of March. “Vehicle.”
“Hey well
I’m a friendly stranger in the black Sedan
Won’t you hop inside my car?
I got pictures, got candy
I’m a lovable man
And I can take you to the nearest star”
Have a nice weekend and stay well.
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I used to LOVE that song. Never knew it was sung by a group called Ides of March (since that’s my birthday date, I love the group’s name even more). Yes, perfect song for this spooky story. Maybe she’s now at “the nearest star.” 🙂
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Why indeed.
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If you ever figure out the answer, will you share it with me? 🙂
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You’ll be the first.
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🤓
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🙃
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Never open the door! How many movies have there been where that was stressed? And in every single one of those movies, the star falls for it. BTW, are you sure Toby wasn’t already in that spaceship? Do you really think he was patrolling on the night shift? I think that’s covered in some of those movies, too.
Good story, Pam. You got me hooked at the first paragraph, when I thought, “Gee, I didn’t know she’s married to a policeman.”
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Haha. I like your scenarios. And I agree, I get so annoyed with the “dumb character” who goes down those dark basement stairs, or follows the weird noises in the attic. But everyone can’t be as smart as we are, or there would be less stories in the world. 🙂
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Love the backstory! And your story. Thanks for the morning smiles.
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Once a week I read the local police blotters. Extremely entertaining, and great fodder for creative stories. 🙂 xo
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I’d want to know who they were and what was in that space ship. Like the “prompt” information!
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I’d like to know also, Patricia. And even more important, did she ever return? 🙂 Ah, entertaining thoughts as we’re all sequestered at home. xo
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Flash fiction at its finest. I read it in a flash, just to get to end-of-story.
But, I’m curious, I believe it took you longer than one might think to write this story. Tell me if I’m wrong. You’re a pro at this! 🙂
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Writer to writer, Marian, I’ll confess that I did indeed write this story in 10 minutes (I time myself. If I want a story to be flash fiction, I need to write it in a flash!). However, I then spent perhaps 20 minutes editing it to my satisfaction. Thanks for the great question. ❤
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Great. First coronavirus and now aliens. That is just what we need right now.
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Funny. I think? The question is, which is worse??? :-0
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Great story! 🙂 🙂 🙂
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THANK you for enjoying my imaginative take on a real happening. Why ARE we put on Earth? I was hoping she’d answer the men in black before they took her away. 🙂
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Wowsa! That’s a profound question for anyone to answer. Aliens can be so nosy, can’t they?
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I’ve heard that aliens are like that – they like to appear out of ‘nowhere’ and ask intense questions. If they don’t know the answer, who does??
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Of course, I didn’t see that coming! But no invitation to come in for cake and coffee in order to discuss it? 🙂 – Marty
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And this, right here, is the reason I always have homemade cookies or brownies in the tin, waiting, ’cause if aliens knock at my door, and I give a good answer while we’re all munching on treats, maybe they won’t “take me away.: ;-0
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Great story:) I always find interesting things in our police blotter, but this one takes it to a new level.
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One does have to wonder about the human race when reading some of the items in a police blotter, doesn’t one? ;-0 🙂
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It does:)
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We never know who is going to be on the other side of that door. Well done, Pamela.
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Good point. And there are those who are willing to “open that door” to find out, and those who prefer to hide behind the door. Which one are YOU, Pete?
Me? I’m glad we have a peephole in our door. 🙂
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I’m with you. As tough as a lot of us guys like to pretend we are, we look through peepholes, too.😎
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😉
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Toby’s partner apparently didn’t hear me when I screamed, “Don’t open the door!” 😀
Once again, beautifully written!
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I was screaming the same thing (Don’t Open the Door!!) as I wrote the story, but alas, my characters never listen to me…. xo
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Good prompt, Pam. Here’s another for you:
Our local police blotter dealt with a naked couple found at the beach after the 11 pm curfew . . . who claimed that they were walking across the country and planned to sleep on the beach au natural.
The officer explained why that would not be possible. 😛
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Well, what a grumpy police officer. 🙂 🙂
Police blotters are quite entertaining (unless you’re a police officer…)
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Ours are often a hoot!
Featuring “silly rabbits.”
Stay well.
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One of the great things about writing fiction is imagining yourself in someone else’s skin. Even before the three spooky men come to the door, I love sinking into her life and her body, imagining her fear of being alone at night.
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YES, thank you! This is “it,” exactly. I’ve read how actors choose their career because they like to put themselves into someone else’s skin. Well, duh. That’s what we writers do with each story we write. ❤
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Ha. Based on a true story. So funny. Can you imagine? She handled it pretty well considering. So, what’s the answer to the question?
Thanks for the entertainment, Pam. 🙂 Be well, my friend. ❤
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Wait. Diana. Are you telling me that YOU don’t know the answer to the question? Drat. I was sure you did. 🙂 But seriously, I think those who write sci-fi and speculative fiction/fantasy are the writers who really wrestle with this question through their characters….
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Ha ha. Yes, there are actually too many plausible answers to pick just one. 🙂 It would be fun to ask authors to finish the story and see what comes up. I’ll bet it would be all over the place. 🙂
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Wouldn’t that be fun! Great way to pass the time while husby’s at work–talking to space alients!
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Of course you would think that talking to space aliens would be a fun way to spend an evening. You write of early humans (and those BEFORE) and you delve with your research and intellect to make the unknown, known.
So, if those three men in black come knockin’ at your door, please answer it. xo
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This is fun, so what happened next, Pam?
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Only the men in black know….! ;-0
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Love the prompt for this story and the question at the end. Of course we’d love to know more but sometimes how we might imagine the answer and what comes after, is just as much fun..:)
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Thanks, George. This is what I like about flash fiction. The author gives the reader only so much, then it’s up to the reader to “Fill-in-the-blanks.”
However, if you know the answer to the aliens’ questions (“why are people put on Earth”), please share. 🙂
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If any of us knew the answer to that question we’d be very rich…in many ways..:)
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Either that, or very very disappointed… 🤔🤭
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I see you’re getting some good moments of inspiration! 🙂 Where did the prompt come from? Did you see it in a newspaper, or was it one of those writing challenges?
Hope you’re doing OK over there. Can you believe this weather??? Snow this morning…
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Yes, I found the prompt just by reading the police blotter (which was actually from Marblehead). And then my imagination roamed.
Sorry you can’t roam about now, but hope you’re happy in New England, where the weather changes hourly. xo
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It’s hard to make up my own mind about the MA weather, as I constantly have to listen to an “I hate New England in the winter” from my husband! Despite it not being winter anymore… “It can only get better and warm up,” I say. That’s one of the reasons why I like spring better than fall, summer is right around the corner. Right? 🙂
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I’m more like Mark than you. In March my guy said, “relax, it’s almost spring.” I’m still asking…WHEN???? 🙂
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Great story, Pam! Loved the prompt, and you had me on the edge of my seat. By the way, never answer the door when home alone! 🙂
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Some people just don’t follow their instincts (like DON’T ANSWER THE DOOR AT NIGHT!) But if everyone acted smart, we’d have less stories to write. 🙂
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True! 🥰
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As often I find myself drawing closer to the screen as I read your posts Pam. You have a fabulous way of creating tension. Now that would be quite the evening caller!
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As a teenager, my parents left me in the house alone when they went out on Saturday nights (well, my younger brother was in bed sleeping, so he didn’t count). My imagination took over with every little sound inside (and outside) the house. I think that’s why now it’s so easy for me to show the tension with my characters. 🙂
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Oh such a philosphical question from these mysterious beings. I hope they don’t insert a computer chip under her skin! Great story, Pam. 🙂
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Whoa, I hadn’t even considered the computer chip, Barbara. One of these days I should start a story and encourage commenters to write their “follow up” to “what happened next.” 🙂
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Haha – I thought of it because of a song by The Killers – Spaceman. You should definitely do a folow-up to a future story – I would love that!
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That’s very good!
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Thanks for reading my spooky and parts-of-it true store, Ann! 🙂
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An eerie story, but what was the answer to the question I wonder….
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I wonder, Andrea. I wonder…..
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Your story brought in some childhood memories. Wives of policemen tend to become brave Pam. My mom is and I inherited my bravery from my dad… still at night I would never open the door without checking who the visitor is. Did she answer? She must be too frozen to speak!
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So interesting, brave Balroop. When I wrote the story I wondered why my main character was the wife of a policeman. She just popped up and told me she was. But I agree, why did she open that door? My guess is that she was lonely. My guess is she had no answer to their “philosophical” question. Maybe, in the end, they told HER why we’re here on Earth. ;–0
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Hmm… a food for thought! Why always sets my mind flying! 😊 let’s see where it heads!
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Loved it. Great imagination as well as the pace of the story!
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Thank you! My imagination has no bounds. But, then again, neither do aliens. 🙂
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How to you get to read police blotters, I wouldn’t mind doing that here in Santa Cruz. I’m sure there would be some interesting stuff to read. I love your story and yes never open the door at night.
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Usually the local papers include a police blotter. I know the local paper in our CA town did. I look in the Metro section of our city’s newspaper and find some really interesting ‘stuff’ in the police blotter. 🙂
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First of all, if you knew ahead of time that there were humanoids dressed in black recently beamed from an alien space ship at your door, would you NOT open? Of course you would! What an opportunity!
I also think you need to check into Toby’s night shift alibi. Me thinks he may have a sexy alien on the side, ready to populate planet X. All in the name of public service to humanity, no doubt.
Ben
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Haha. Before I saw which one of you wrote this comment (Ben or Peta?), as I continued to read, I said to myself, “that’s Ben”! To be honest, I’d like to say I’d open the door if I knew some interesting aliens were on the other side. Then again, I’d prefer to be your neighbor, and see what happened when YOU opened your door to greet the “men in black.” 🙂
I’m a romantic. I think that Toby looks high and lo for his wife for years, even though she’s never to be seen again.
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Ooooh! Scary! My ex-sister-in-law used to hate it when my brother was on night-shift ( he was a policeman) not because of aliens but spiders! If someone had knocked on the door and there was a spider in the house, she would have invited them in, aliens or no!
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I love your response, Clare. I’m not acquainted with any policemen (besides, ‘could you please let this one speeding ticket go, officer?’) so I was surprised to find out that my main character was a policeman’s wife. But I’m glad you agree that she was willing to open the door – not because of spiders in her case, but I think pure loneliness.
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To suffer from loneliness must be awful. I am very fortunate in that I have never felt really lonely even when I’ve been alone for some time. I hope you are keeping well, Pam.
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Hey, anything is possible nowadays, lol 🙂 x
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What once was real is now surreal. What once was surreal is now…. real.
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Well I want to know if she was taken to the spaceship for the night 🙂 I guess flash fiction can never be that neat
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She was gone in a flash…. 😉
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The irony is how marrying a police officer does not mean you are now safe. I have heard where partners spend many lonely nights. A great imaginative story that immediately pulled me in. One of my reoccurring dreams as a young girl was about a spaceship hovering over our campsite during the night. Note to self, Pamela, I don’t whether I should have read this story right before bed. lol. 😅
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Your childhood dream is fascinating, Erica. Are you sure that was a dream?! ;-0
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It was a recurring dream for many years, since I was a young child. I don’t know…………🧐
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Well written again, Pam. This was quite a spooky story, and a spooky prompt too. Sometimes things just go bump in the night 😀
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Sometimes we just should NOT answer the front door!! 🙂 xo
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I would love that to happen to me. I would ask them to take me with them, as long as my dog could come too. 🙂
Many thanks for following my blog.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Good point. We need good companionship on the way to the unknown… 🙂
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Great story Pam… Loving your imagination and who knows how many doors have been knocked upon, by those men in black?? or how many were the ONE… 🙂
Love right back at you… Hope all is well with you ❤
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Perhaps we are ALL the …. O N E. 🙂
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I think we are Pam…. WE ALL chose to BE Here right now didn’t we 🙂
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You’re going to have to get a peephole in your door, Pam. 🙂 A great spooky little tale, but now the “Men In Black” theme song has become an Ear Worm.
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Haha, sorry about the ear worm. 🙂
“The good guys dress in black, remember that
Just in case we ever face to face and make contact
The title held by me, MIB
Means what you think you saw, you did not see
So don’t brink be what was there is now gone
The black suits with the black Ray Bans on”
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Hilarious! Why, indeed. 🙂
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🙂
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