Home alone. When I hear these two words present-day, it means that the house is to myself, it would be peaceful, private, and pleasant. When I heard those words when I was 5 years old, fear grasped me and held me tight.
Ten years ago, my Tio (Uncle) Robert, or Tio Bob, was babysitting my older sister Veronica (8) my younger brother Andres, (3) and I. My parents were out of town then, and Tio Bob and his family had just moved into their new house. Their new house was a castle for us. It had two levels, and was atop of a green hill in Camas. The front yard was the descending hill that soon led down to the road. There was a gravel path, which the cars would drive up and down on. From the sides and from behind, it was pure forest with a small lake to one side. The house had three entrances that you could go into. The front door was kind of hidden, there was a winding staircase outside that would lead to the front door. People could go through the garage, if they knew the code. Or they could go through the backyard and head through the sliding door. It was a magnificent house to live in. And to be scared in.
It was around the evening time, around 7:30pm when the phone’s ring chilled the empty halls of the house. Our Tio answered the phone. We didn’t exactly hear the conversation, but we heard grunts of agreement. We heard the familiar click of the button, which ended the call, and he placed it back it's’ holder. He turned to us and pointed at Andres.

“You are going to come with me to pick up your Tia and cousins. And so is Veronica.”

I hopped about, excited, my little dark brown curls bouncing “What about me Tio? Yo quiero ir! Yo quiero ir!”
    

My Tio shook his head. “No. There is no room for you in the car. You’ll stay here. Home alone.”
    

At those words, my heart sunk. Alone? Alone, with no one with me? Alone, with no knowledge of the house? “Do I have too?” I looked at my siblings.

“Yes. Veronica is sick, and your brother is simply too young. You’ll be fine.” He gave me a hug while sliding on his tan jacket. Turning, he zipped up my brother’s navy blue sweater, and tied his torn-up teal shoes. Tio Bob circled around to get Veronica ready, but she already was. Wearing two black sweaters, white pants, and black boots with rhinestones. She had a white scarf that swirled around her neck. Her brown eyes looked dull and her runny nose red. Black, wavy hair cascaded down either side of her petite, pretty, and precious face. Her hand was gripping a tissue box. My uncle gave a soft smile and gestured them to sit while he tended to me. He gave me a fluffy purple blanket that he wrapped around me. Picking me up, he carried me over to the black leather couch.

“There are DvDs here, to keep yourself occupied. We’re going to leave now. Be brave Vanessa, you’ll be fine.” He kissed me on my forehead, his lips were cold, and it almost made me shudder. He turned and held hands with my siblings, leading them out the back door into the cold yet crispy night. I heard the door click. It was locked. I ran to the window, using my chubby dark fingers to peer through the window’s blinds. The small black car’s engine spurred to life, the lights flashed as the car backed out of the driveway and down the gravel road, in a few moments, it reached the road at the end of the hill. They took a right, and within moments, they were out of sight, and I was truly alone.

My breaths came to me quickly. I backed up away from the window, and ran back to the couch. I snuggled up in the blanket, and spaced out, staring at a clock that was above the fireplace. It teased me, Tick. Tock. Tick Tock. In what seemed for hours, was only but a few minutes. I shifted my gaze to the large black screen, maybe I’ll watch a movie I thought to myself. I smiled, feeling a tinge of happiness. This isn’t that bad, right? I started to slide off the couch to go start a movie. The cold air nipped at my toes as I took the blanket off. I gave a small whine and wrapped the blanket around my feet. The frosty air poked at me, stinging my nose and ears and my small little fingertips. I cuddled with the blanket Your my only friend .

I pulled out two little horse figurines out of my jean pocket. One of them was the color of dark charcoal, while the other was the color of the sun’s rays, with a snow-colored mane and tail. I pretended they were racing through a land of snow. I started to smile at myself, it was kind of nice with no noise so I could play. Of course, nothing goes my way. A piercing howl cut through the silence. It was loud, so it was close. I froze. My hands lost grip and my toys clattered onto the carpet. I slid off the couch, with my blanket, and walked towards the wide window that would give me a glimpse of the backyard.

The cold played around at my legs and feet, but I ignored it. I thrust the golden curtains out wide and ducked, hoping nothing saw me. I poked my head above the window sill and narrowed my eyes to identify anything. The night was beautiful. The sky was a deep dark blue, with white stars that twinkled throughout the velvet sky. The moon was full, a white, silver-dappeld disk in the sky. My brown eyes darted down from the sky, and to the house’s deck,which had pots of red roses and the swingset. I looked up further, where the woods were. It was dark, with shadows and moonlight playing tricks on my mind. My brown eyes darted to the right. Something moved. It was lumbering down, leaving the protection of the tall trees. I didn’t see the whole creature until it stepped into the moon’s light. It burly, black fur was rugged and dirty, and its brown snout was grand and big. Its beady eyes were dead black. Its paws raked at the ground, and it buried its nose in the dirt, sniffing for something. I have never seen a bear before, but the thoughts of them scared me. I wanted to scream, but it was trapped in my throat. My whole body trembled. It was so close to the house. What if it broke through the glass door? I asked myself, I can’t fight against a bear! I struggled to close one of the curtains. I tugged hard, and with a loud clank it grooved over. I saw the bear’s head jerk up, and its head tilted towards me. I couldn’t tell if it was looking at me, but my heart was pumping hard, threatening to jump out of my chest. I didn’t wait. I slid the other part of the curtain over and sprinted to the next room over: the playroom.

My hands ravaged through the toy baskets. I threw out the stuffed animals, board games, cars, and other toys until my hand finally reached what I was looking for. With my two miniature hands I pulled out a weapon of my choice: a purple lightsaber. I smiled This can do some damage for in the movies, lightsabers can kill someone. Carefully, I only gripped the handle of the sword, and avoided the saber part. I didn’t want to hurt myself. I pictured myself hitting the bear if it ever managed to get into the house. My thoughts raced through my head, and the freezing air caught hold of me. I stalked back into the living room, and I snatched my blanket and raced back into the room, hoping I wasn’t being seen by the bear. I fled to the corner of the playroom, grabbing pillows, and couch cushions. I positioned them beside and over me, fitting perfectly between the drawers and desks. I draped a separate blanket over me and I hid myself inside my bear-proof fort, snuggled in the soft sweet blanket, with my lightsaber, ready. I panted heavily from being frightened and running around. Yet another enemy approached me: sleep. My eyelids drifted closed, but I blinked rapidly, trying to get my eyes to stay open. It worked, for a few minutes. Sleep floated through my body, my limbs relaxed, and it tugged at my eyes. Everything seemed to blur, and sleep and the warmth overtook me, and everything went black.

I woke up to small annoying hands taking apart the pillows that provided my protection. My little brother. Andres grabby hands clapped together “Nessa!” He giggled

I heard the footsteps of my Tio and Tia. They gave me a big hug and filled my hands with crackers as they asked. “How was it being home alone?”

I paused, the events racing in my mind. I then looked back at my lightsaber, and my blanket. The secret was safe with us. I ran my hands through my thick hair and smiled.

“It was just as I thought it would be.”