Life interrupted
By Sarah Stebbins


Linda and Felix had been married for five years and they had a baby girl named Samantha.  Linda stayed home and took care of the baby, and Felix was a lawyer who worked in the city.  Linda and Felix had always felt very fortunate to live in a very nice and safe neighborhood.  That is, until one unexpected and frightening night.
      Felix had come home early to help Linda decorate for Halloween.  He went up to the attic and started to bring down the decorations while Linda finished cooking dinner.  Samantha was in her playpen.  “Honey, dinner is ready,”   Linda called out to Felix.  “Alright I’m on my way down,” Felix replied.  They had a nice quiet dinner and then Felix helped Linda clean up.  They took Samantha upstairs and tucked her into bed.  Linda went downstairs and Felix went back up into the attic to get the rest of the decorations. When Felix came downstairs, he didn’t see Linda in the living room so he went into the kitchen.  He found Linda there, along with an intruder.
      While they had been upstairs putting Samantha to bed, someone had broken into the house through the back door that led into the kitchen.  The intruder had started going into the living room to see what he could steal when he heard Linda coming down the stairs.  He ran back into the kitchen and hid in the pantry.  When Linda went into the kitchen she noticed that the pantry door was open.  She thought it was strange and felt sure that door had been closed earlier.  Linda walked over to the door.  In a split second, the intruder jumped out and grabbed her.  He covered her mouth and then he whispered in her ear “Don’t scream or I’ll hurt you.”  Linda heard Felix call out her name from the living room.  She wanted to cry out and warn him, but she felt paralyzed.  When Felix came into the kitchen he saw Linda being held against her will and a gun being pointed to her head.  Felix couldn’t see the intruder’s face because he was wearing a ski mask.  Felix felt helpless.
      The intruder told Felix to go into the living room.  He then pointed his gun at Felix and made him tie up Linda and put some tape on her mouth.  The intruder said to Felix, “If you cooperate, I won’t hurt you or your family.”   Felix wasn’t sure if the intruder knew about Samantha but he wasn’t about to take any chances.  The intruder told Felix to help him carry out the TV that was hanging over the fireplace.  Felix did what he was told and they carried the TV into the kitchen.  At the back door the intruder stopped and set the TV on the floor.  He warned Felix not to make any sudden moves and then stood at the doorway to make sure the back part of the house was clear.  That’s when he felt the blow to the side of his head.  The intruder touched his own neck and felt something smooth sticking out of it.  He looked at his hand and saw the blood then he looked up at Felix, stunned.   He fell to the floor and passed out, then Felix grabbed the gun.
      The intruder had not noticed when Felix had grabbed the lead crystal piece that sat on the fireplace mantelpiece.  It was not a large piece but it was heavy and had a very sharp point.  Felix tied up the intruder with some rope he found in the pantry and then ran into the living room and untied Linda.   They hugged and Linda ran upstairs while Felix called police.  Linda went into Samantha’s room where she found her sleeping, safe and sound, in her crib.  Linda sighed and began to cry.







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