It was raining. Quite a pour it was! You could barely see anything. But Mark loved the rain. He loved to run and splash around in the water puddles. Once the rain stopped, he went looking for frogs and worms that came out of their homes. Mark eagerly wanted to go outside and splash, but today, he was stuck inside. Mom had to go to grandma’s house to help out with the leaky roof due to the heavy rain and Dad was stuck at work. It was the first time that Mark had to stay home alone after dark. He felt very brave today. However, looking at the rain, Mark suddenly realised that someone was standing outside the window in the rain.
He was standing completely still and seemed to be looking straight at Mark who was looking nervous. Frightened, Mark sank to the floor. His heart was thumping loudly, and his hands were shaking. Mark wanted to cry out loudly for Mom and hide in her arms. But Mom was not at home. He was alone. He had to be brave. Taking in deep breaths, Mark lay still on the floor. Forcing his jumbled thoughts together, he thought fast. He knew he had to act fast before it was too late. He wanted to meet Mom and Dad again. He could not die so soon! Slowly, he crept to the window and looked outside. The figure was still standing in the same place and looking straight at Mark’s window. Now, Mark was closer to the window; he could hear growling, like a lion’s. Thinking fast, Mark took out his bow gun from his toy box. Taking a deep breath and gathering all his courage, Mark slammed the window open. Aiming straight at the figure standing in the dark, he shot his bow gun. He must have hit his mark, because there was a loud roar of pain. The slow growling, he had heard before, was now a high roar of pain. Mark couldn’t bear it. The noise was ear-shattering. He covered his ears and hid under Mom-Dad’s bed. Holding his bow gun close to his chest, he lay still panting heavily. He must have fallen asleep because the next thing he heard was Mom and Dad calling out for him, and it was morning. Mark fell in his parents’ arms wiping away his tears of joy and thankfulness. He could not explain to them why he had his bow gun in his hands. They would not have believed him anyway. But now, Mark always had his bow gun next to his head whenever he went to sleep. He never knew what might be waiting for him out there in the dark!
