"Meaning?" I replied fast. Suddenly the breakfast meal turned tasteless, my appetite had gone. I put down my spoon and looked at Emma back seriously. "I did not see that dog last night. It seemed it had gone when that man came. I kept watching him until I did realised I was asleep, then you woke me up this morning," I explained to her.
Emma put down her spoon as well. Breakfast time suddenly turned to be a serious discussion. "Don't you want to set a CCTV in your house?" asked the lady half whispered as if someone else would hear our conversation, "this is only advice, Tha. We don't expect the worst but we are ready for that. You will not be able to face it if you have to peep out of the window and sleep on the floor. Meanwhile, the following day you have to go to campus and work. Even if that man poses you a danger, you have evidence to report that to the police," she continued.
I kept quiet for a while, thinking about Emma's idea. It was not bad at all. It was good to prepare the worst that might happen even though no one could predict the future.
"Em, I felt strange about that man last night," Emma looked at me in confusion. She did not understand what I was trying to tell her. "He was not human" my voice was low and soft. There were only two of us in that house but I got goose bumps instantly. I simply could feel someone was watching us… somewhere…in my house.
"What does that mean?," Emma asked, trying to get clear ideas from me.
"I am saying that what I saw last night was not human, not a real man" I was reluctant to continue, but Emma's expression grew more curious. "Listen! This might sound a bit nonsensical for you". I looked around to make sure no one listened to our chats. "My feelings told me he was not human, like us. The way he walked was so strange, his skin was pale, and the knock sounds when he walked. I happened to see his eyes last night. He had eyes like cats. You get it, don't you? Cat's eyes are shining in the darkness. And, his eyes were!" I was still confused about what I had seen last night. What kind of creature he was.
Finished listening to my explanation, Emma looked bewildered. She dialed someone through her cell phone. I didn't quite catch what they were talking about, around 2 minutes, then she was back. "This afternoon, a friend of mine will come here to install a CCTV on the yard and the areas around '' She stood in front of me with her hands on the waist. "Honestly, I also felt something was strange with that man. I thought he might be your friend. But strangely, he did not knock at the door, or did whatever possible as a man, only stood up quietly". I heard her taking a deep breath. "This might sound cruel to say he is not human. But I just feel something is wrong with him, something 'different' "
I was just dumbfounded to hear all her words. For the first time I saw her like this, as if I saw another side of that woman., not a best friend who always preached me with long and long advice, like a train track.
I only stared at my meal for breakfast, not willing to touch it. My appetite had been absorbed by last night's incident. I glanced at the front door which was visible.and that reminded me of last night horrible sightings. I felt the horror and fear again.
…
I waited for Emma until at 10am and at 12pm all CCTV were installed. There were four cameras in total, 2 cameras were in the yard, and two others were on the side house each. When I wanted to leave the shop to help Emma, that white dog came back again. I was afraid of that dog, so I just watched him from a distance.
That dog had very beautiful white hair and the hair was really well cared for. Emma was right, it was none sense if that dog had no owner. He looked so calm even with a stranger like me.
As if he ignored my presence, the white dog directly went into my yard and stood on the side of my house without barking, simply stared straight at the gate. He looked so calm. I chose to ignore him and went to the shop. .
At the shop, Emma was busy with her customers that were pretty many that a day. I helped her without any words.
"Has it been done?" she asked when I was standing near her to pick up pots the customers wanted.
At first, I was a bit confused with that question, but after a second I understood what she meant, "Oh, yes. It has just been done," I replied, "Thank you," I was very lucky to have a friend like Emma.
In between my working hours, I checked my house condition through my cell phone. I did not see anything strange. That little dog changed his position every now and then, or a daughter of my neighbor came and played with that dog.
Everything just looked so normal. One thing bothered me, though, that dog was guarding my house. I tried to ignore that and took a positive mind that the dog might belong to someone and he might have been lost.
…
The clock struck at 10pm, so I asked for a leave to Emma. After cleaning up the shop, we decided to go home. She asked me to call her if something happened at my house.
I walked slowly, until I reached the gate of my house. Then I heard a dog barking loudly.
The white hair dog, which usually looked calm, was barking loudly at something on the side of my house. The dog was looking wild and offensive, so much contrast with his usual look.
I tried to keep some distance and just stood outside the fence. That dog growled in the same direction, moved around, then barked again. His white hair expanded and he was really angry at something there.
I turned around quickly and wanted to run as far as I could, everywhere, as long as not at my house. Honestly, I was so afraid of going home at that moment.
I called Emma quickly while walking fast, "Em, I am heading to your house. Allow me, please," I was begging her and crying. The person on the other edge was panicking, and I accelerated my steps toward my best friend's house.