”Trick or treat!” I chorused with my friends. I loved Halloween then as now, but I had a secret. The dark terrified me. I was powerless to overcome this character flaw and it grew as I did. One night around age 15, I awoke for no particular reason. My heart began to pound, my mouth grew dry and the hairs on the back of my hand stood upright as goose bumps marched up my arms, but I rebelled.
“This is ridiculous,” I snorted. “I’m going to act like an adult. There are no ghosts or monsters and, even though I don’t need to, I’ll turn on the light and prove it.” I reached over and flipped the light switch. The light flashed and burned out. I dove under the covers faster than an Olympic sprinter. Only the supernatural could make my light burn out at that moment and I lay shivering in fright.
The air began to grow stuffy under the covers. “It was just a coincidence,” I thought as my breath calmed and my pulse slowed. “There’s still nothing there and I’ll walk slowly across the room to the other light switch to prove it.”
I threw my covers back and put my feet on the floor. Forcing myself to stand, I walked at a measured pace until I stood by the door. I flicked on the light switch and turned to survey my room. As I knew (almost), there were no monsters. I turned off the light and walked back to bed, my fear of the dark now forever behind me, and began to chuckle. I had just done the most courageous thing that I had ever done in my short life, and no one witnessed it. That thought kept me smiling as I drifted back to sleep.
Bill Bartlett lives in Belton with his wife, Sandi, and two sons.