“I love you darling, have a good shift tonight.” I hug and kiss my wife goodbye as she leaves for her shift at the hospital. “Don’t forget to leave the faucet dripping, otherwise the pipes will freeze” she says.

“Thank you, I would have forgotten completely.”

“I know darling” she says as she gently touches my face.

“Kiss Sam goodnight for me, I feel bad that I’ve had to work late every night this week and haven’t been able to tuck him in”

“I’m sure he understands” I reply to her. She smiles warmly at me and steps out of the doorway into the cloudy winter night. I wait there staring at the rear red lights of our car disappear into the night as she makes her way out of the neighborhood. I close the door behind me and a couple of oak leaves manage to sneak their way in onto the welcome mat.

I decide to go to the kitchen and make myself a nice hot cup of coffee before I head to bed. I grab a pot, fill it up with water and lay it on the stove top. I twist the gas knob, it clicks three times and a flame sparks up. As the water begins to simmer I decide to make my way down the hallway into Sam’s room. I quietly turn the handle on the door and peek my head in to check on him. I look in and see him sitting there, in the middle of the room.

“Is everything alright Sam?” I ask.

Sam turns around quickly with surprise and exclaims with a smile.

“Daddy! You scared me!”

“I’m sorry buddy, what are you up to? It’s almost bed time.” I say.

“I’m almost done!” He shouts with a giggle.

I look closely to see what he was working on and it looked like some kind of drawing. I couldn’t tell what it was exactly, but the object Sam was drawing looked familiar to me.

“Make sure you brush your teeth before going to bed, bud. I love you. I’ll be back in a little bit to tuck you in.”

Sam continues drawing and I head back down the hallway and into the kitchen to check on the water. I look inside the pot and the water was still at a simmer, not the same as before but not at a boil either. I take the ground coffee out of the

cupboard and scoop about two and a half tablespoons of it into a pour over coffee strainer. As I open up the cabinet to grab a mug I hear Sam’s little footsteps on the hardwood floor run across the hallway and into the bathroom. I hear the water from the faucet run and Sam begin to hum a tune while he brushes his teeth. As he continues to brush I turn the gas off from the stove and pour the water over the coffee.

As I slowly pour the water I can’t help but think about the object from his drawing. I know I’ve seen it somewhere, but I can’t seem to put my finger on where. It was a a brown cane with a black feather hanging from the handle. An odd thing to draw for a kid.

I hear Sam scatter to his room and slam the door shut. An unusual thing for him to do. He always leaves the door open at night. He waits for either my wife or I to tuck him in and close it afterwards. I head down the hallway again and towards his room. I open the door and see him sitting there again, only this time the room is dark and cold. I walk towards him and notice the drawing on his bed. I pick it up and take a closer look this time.

The cane. It belonged to Thomas. That’s where Ive seen it before. How did I not remember? Thomas owned the house for many years before he passed. He was old, blind, and lost his wife years ago from cancer. Thomas took his own life after she passed. But, this was years ago. Sam wasn’t born yet. How does he know about the cane? I fold the drawing and put it in my pocket. I walk towards Sam and sit by him. “It’s time to go to bed bud. Lets tuck you in.” I speak softly.

“But I don’t want to go to bed, the man with no eyes is waiting for me in the closet.”

I look up and see an old hand reach out from the closet. The door slams shut and darkness overcomes me.