The Man Next Door

My little  sister and I got up on a Tuesday morning to get ready for school. Everything was normal. We ate our breakfast and watched Channel 19 cartoons while waiting on our school bus. It was Autumn time so it was still dark outside . We always went to our bus stop around 6:10, 6:15 because we lived the farthest and we were picked up first. Most of the time my mother wasn’t up yet around this time but before we left each day I still let her know we was leaving.

It was time for us to go to our bus stop, which was just a few steps up the driveway, by our cousins house. We put our coats on and walked outside. It was really cold since it was so early in the morning. The wind wasn’t making anything better it was just blowing, leaves were blowing everywhere. I always held my sisters hand when we would walk because she was just in the first grade, and sometimes it was kind of scary because we lived by the woods.

Ever since we had been living at our house, which was about 5 months, no one had lived in the house in front of ours. It was just as big as ours. It was yellow but the paint on the outside of the house was chipped. The house was scary because all the windows stayed open, but they didn’t have any blinds, so you could see right in the house. Plus it was Autumn and since we lived by a lot of woods and trees so it was always dark and weary. We wasn’t used to anybody being up there unless the landlord had come to work on stuff.

Me and my sister were walking up the driveway and then we heard somebody talking to us. At first i thought i was just hearing stuff but then we seen this man in the kitchen window. I remember seeing him walking around before because he was homeless so I knew he didn’t live there but I was still wondering why he was in there. I didnt hear what he said so I said “Huh.” Then he said “What’s your name?” Once he asked that I was so spooked I just grabbed my sister and ran back home.

I ran in the house and told my mama and daddy what had happened. I remember my daddy getting up first looking outside because he thought I was lying. So my daddy got dressed and went outside. So then my mama asked me what had happened so I told her. My mother got up and watched out the window because we heard my daddy and the man outside arguing. I heard my daddy ask “What was you talking to my daughters for?” Then the man said “I wasn’t talking to anybody,” my dad then said “Why would my daughter just lie like that you’re the only person out here, and why are you even here you do not live here anyways.” The whole time they were arguing we just seen the man walking down the street, away from the house, and my daddy was following him. I guess the man knew we were calling the police.

Finally the police came, and they had to find the man because he walked down in the woods so they wouldn’t see him. Well since my daddy had been following him he knew exactly where he had cut off into the woods. They found the man and made him leave, but they told him to never come back in the area or he would go to jail for trespassing.

After that we never seen the man again. I’ve never had anything like that happen to me before and I will admit it was scary. I wasn’t just scared for me, but also for my sister. Now that I’m older I always watch out for my brothers and sister, and I let them know that they can’t talk to strangers especially with all the stuff on the news I see happening with kids being killed and one that have gone missing. I’m glad I was educated on what to do if something like that was to ever happen because I kept my sister safe and myself.