He knew there was no one there but as he peered through the glass into the dark garden beyond he felt sure he saw a figure standing by the fence. He looked again but the shape evaporated into the branches of the buddleia. You are being paranoid he told himself, shaking his head to eject unwelcome thoughts. He should draw the curtains to shut out the night but was that a face staring back at him, pale against the darkness? His heart began to race, his pulse pounding in his ears as he held his breath and listened. The rattling of a window? Were the doors locked? The front door had secured itself as it closed behind him but the back? He raced to the kitchen knocking over a lamp in his urgency. He scrabbled in a drawer and found the key. His hands shook so violently that it took three attempts to hit the target. The lock turned with a satisfying clunk. He stood with his back against the door, all danger now barred from his house.Then, the light cast by the upturned lamp in the next room moved. Whatever it was was no longer outside the house.
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