fodder

yesterday afternoon i decided to walk home via residental streets, as opposed to the more direct route via division and 6th. i went serpentine, just north of 6th.

in front of a corner house was parked a white van with the city's seal on the door. under the seal it read forensic services. a girl of 8 or 10 was on the lawn, a large cat in her arms. it hung between her wrists like a hammock and it watched me. the girl tried out a smile but it didn't quite work. standing on the path to the door of the house was a woman on a cell phone. into the phone she was saying, "no, it's okay. i can hold. wait? what? well, when should i call back?" after i passed this woman i heard the door of the van slam closed. i turned and a man in a uniform said, "were you scared?"

we went to bed early because the night before we hadn't slept much. kara fell asleep at maybe 7:15 and i at perhaps 7:45. the puppies woke us at 10 and 2, like hands on a steering wheel. the cats, especially eliot, were restless through the night, requiring comfort and distraction. between these wakings, i slept hard and heavily, with many vivid dreams.

at about midnight i heard a man muttering. i opened my eyes a little bit and in the darkness i saw him standing near the foot of our bed, holding a collapsible ladder. he wore a plaid shirt and seemed angry. i was still partially asleep and when i tried to move my arm to wake kara, i couldn't. the man walked past me and out of the room, deeper into the house. i struggled to move my arm, to touch kara, to speak, but i was too heavy. i could not move.