The Notes
Covering his face with his sleeve to avoid breathing in the toxic fumes, TarPuppy ran up the stairs and into his room. When he entered, he was surprised to see that his belongings were as he had left them. There were shirts strewn on the floor, and his TV was still on. The Netflix binge message of concern quietly flickered on the screen: “Are you still watching “House Of Cards”?” Frantically turning to his desk, he rifled through the clutter of his drawers, looking for the notes. He knew he had left them there, secreted away and safe – just in case he had to present them as evidence. He started to panic now. Where were they? Had they been taken? Then, he pulled out an old notebook that had been placed conspicuously at the top of the pile of papers. He opened it, and what he saw made his shaky reality crumble around him in an instant. There were two pages torn out from the notebook — he could see the jagged lines where they had been. But this was his notebook… had someone written the threatening notes on his own notepaper? What was the alternative? That he was, indeed, delusional? He let the reality sink in for a moment, before sliding to the floor and hugging his knees.
And that’s how they found TarPuppy, clutching himself in the fetal position and rocking slowly, the notebook still in his hand, in the house that crumbled around him as his reality had. Do you know what dangers lurk in your own home? In the walls, floors, and recesses? There are dangers that lurk in the human mind, too. One silent spore can wreak havoc on the human body and send the mind reeling into a living nightmare. Do you know what toxic molds lurk in your home?
In order to protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblances to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.