Surprise Attack

It was around 1976 and in the fall in Upstate New York. I lived across the street from an old man whose name was Mr. Meddel. I thought he was such a sweet guy and he was. He never had a harsh word for anyone. I was about 14 at the time and we would talk about gardening (he had a beautiful garden) and the old days when he was a child. I loved his old stories and we grew even closer every time he told them. He obviously grew up in the big house across the street. He actually lived in the cottage right next door. He told me of how his family had not been close to him for quite a while and I suppose he knew in a way that he was close to death. He said considering the fact that I was so interested in his life way back when and since I was a close friend and his family was so removed from his life that I could go through the house when he died and see what I wanted. I know this sounds strange but he knew somehow that his family would not take care of or care about the items in the big house. I promised him tentatively that I would. It wasn't long after that my friend Mr. Meddel passed away.

My best friend and my cousin and I went to the old house about a month later. When we took the way in through a large heavy door to the basement stairs, it led us directly to the door to the kitchen. The door was open surprisingly and we walked right in. Even though he told me to go there; I felt as if I was an intruder. We went through the kitchen which held many old treasures and then past some bedrooms which eerily were still made up as if the people had just left that morning! The living room was past all the bedrooms. There was a stairway leading up to the second floor off the living room. As we made our way toward the stairs, we heard a thumping noise. As we looked up the steps toward the noise we saw coming barreling toward us a ceramic figure of a bull about six inches across. Needless to say: we didn't stay long after that. We ran like hell out of the house and dropping flashlights as we went. I suppose even though Mr. Meddel welcomed me and mine to the old house, someone or something did not. I'll never forget Mr. Meddel or that night in the old house across the street.