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Personal Narrative Fiction

Decent Essays

1 Category: Fiction Word Count: 2,323 You’ll Let the Storm In A gust of wind blew around the outside of the house as Mike pried the bottle cap off his fourth beer with his teeth. It was a trick one of his old classmates had taught him—a trick he used to use to impress women in bars, but now, domesticated, he only used when he couldn’t find the bottle opener. The cap fell to the ground, and Mike pressed down on the ridges with the sole of his foot. He lifted his leg, retrieved the cap, and threw it in the trash. “I thought you said just one more beer tonight,” his wife said, framed by the doorway to the hall. “I’ve had a long day, Alice.” He noticed her eyes occasionally flicker to look over his shoulder, and realized she was looking …show more content…

“You know they tell you to stay away from windows in storms.” Alice immediately returned to her perch on the couch, the color drained from her face, and Mike regretted saying anything about the windows. Then there was a smaller crash near the front door—not a crash, Mike realized, but what sounded like one, solitary knock. Then there was another. He looked up to Alice, but she had her fingers on her ears again. 4 He got up and looked through the peephole on the door, a small portal into the danger, but the rain was pouring in so many different directions that he couldn’t make out the shape of a person. He felt Alice’s hand fall on his shoulder, and he told her he’d heard a knock. “It was probably another branch,” she said. “Don’t open the door. You’ll let the storm in.” There was another knock, this time more desperate, and without hesitation, Mike opened the door. A tall man stood on their front porch. He had on a dark brown fedora, a long coat, and he was carrying a briefcase. Under his coat, he was wearing a black suit and tie. “Do you mind if I come in?” the man said. Mike hesitated at the abrupt request and looked back to Alice, but she didn’t take her eyes off the guest. “Of course, of course,” Mike stepped to the side and extended his arm inward in

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