The Hiding Place
When you think you are alone, every sound matters just a little more.
AI Image prompted by Catherine Knee
Bap!
Bap, bap, bap!
My eyes grew wide as the soft sound fluttered around the living room. I slowly looked around, moving my head only a little at a time so as not to alert anyone that I was checking the area out. I wasn’t sure if there actually was anyone in the house with me. My mind could be playing tricks on me, you know?
Bap!
I froze, my arm outstretched. My pupils dilated. Was there someone here at home with me? Slowly, I lowered my arm and inched my way around, taking tiny steps, mindful of placing my feet in a way that would make no sound at all. I shuffled cautiously, until I could see the doorway, being ever so careful all the while, so as not to give any hint that I was in the living room.
Maybe I was being silly, after all, I was pretty sure I was on my own in the house.
Wasn’t I?
My eyes darted around the room again, then I tried to peer into the hallway, making miniscule movements only. I guess someone could be there, right?
My muscles began to ache from holding a frozen position for too long. My skin twitched in tiny spasms, but I daren’t move more than a millimetre at a time. What if someone was here and heard me? What if they realised I was hiding in the living room? How much danger was I in?
Hiding? I wasn’t actually hiding, was I? I was just keeping still. Mostly.
I should hide!
Hunkering down, I gently eased myself closer to the wall. I was next to the Christmas tree, taking down the baubles, so I tried to squeeze behind it to use the branches to conceal me.
My leg rubbed against one of the branches.
Whoosh!
The soft sound scuttled about the room as if to say, “Here I am, here I am!”
I froze, still as a statue. I was too close to the tree and a small branch scratched against my face. My nose twitched.
Bap!
My head jerked, against my will and the branch rustled against my cheek. My breathing deepened with fear and... dare I say it… excitement.
I positively tingled! This was the most excitement I had had in this boring old house for, months, maybe longer. Maybe since the last Christmas season!
Stiffening again, I heard heavy footsteps coming down the stairs.
Stomp, stomp, stomp!
I wasn’t imagining it! Someone was here! What to do? What to do?
Slap, slap, slap!
I heard feet in the hallway! Time was running out! I had to move! I had to move, right now!
All of the energy in my tense body flared into a sudden burst of speed. I leapt out from my hiding place, straight forward, into the tree, which teetered precariously!
It was an accident, I swear!
I heard a voice cry out as the man came into the room.
“Mittens! No! Get out of the goddam Christmas tree!”
Inspiration
This one came out of a Halloween flash fiction prompt where the obvious expectation was something dark and unsettling.
I liked the idea of building tension in a very ordinary setting. A living room, a Christmas tree, a quiet house. Nothing inherently threatening, and yet it does not take much for that to shift if you start listening too closely to the wrong kind of noise. That sense of being watched, or not quite alone, is something most people have felt at some point, even if they cannot explain why.
At the same time, I had not written an animal story for a while, and I do not have many Christmas themed pieces either, so this became a way to fold those elements together. It let me play with expectation from both angles. Set it up as something more sinister, then let it land somewhere slightly different. That contrast is where the fun is for me.
Enjoy Christmas related stories?
👉 Read “Christmas Miracle”
Want to see the visuals that inspire the mood?
👉 Explore Ethereal Visions
Interested in how my own art skills grow evolve over time?
👉 Follow the Art Journey Blog
Summary
A suspenseful short story by Catherine Knee blending domestic horror, animal behaviour, and Christmas atmosphere into a tense and unexpected narrative.