The Watcher

The Watcher Chapter 2 - The Encounter

Nicole woke up suddenly with the sense that something was wrong. Her husband Jarvis lay sleeping next to her. Her son was snoring softly in his room. Nicole swung her legs over the side of the bed, rubbed her eyes and put on her glasses. Her feet hit the hardwood floor and she padded quietly out into the living room of the condominium. This place was a recent purchase and Nicole turned the space into a place of her dreams. She spared no expense with the furnishings with the finished result being like something you would see in a magazine. The furnishings were cream coloured fabric sofas and arm chairs and the contrasts were bright prints and heavily framed mirrors. The coffee table and shelving units were glass and mahogany. The condo sat on top of the Rose and Thistle bar and it had a panoramic view of the Ottawa river.

It was 5 a.m. And the light of day was slowly seeping in through the windows from the shadows outside. What woke me she wondered aloud?" Nicole headed to her kitchen which was in the country theme with sparkling stainless steel appliances  a wide ceramic counters. The cupboards were off white with spacious shelving that climbed to the ceiling. Nicole stifled a yawn and started up her Tassimo with a Maxwell House coffee disc. The smell of brewing coffee rose to great her. With coffee cup in hand with the usual creamer and sweetener she headed towards her favourite spot in the house her bay window. Settling down on the plush floral upholstery covering the window seat she watched boats moored in a nearby marina with small birds in the trees outside singing soothing tunes. Nicole thought it's weird for me to wake up this early on a Saturday morning. She remembered waking suddenly with a feeling of urgency that she had to get up.

Nicole leaned her back towards the wall and closed her eyes feeling drowsiness setting in. She smiled as she thought about how well things were going in her life. She had the pub of her dreams, a lovely home, a great husband and a son who lit up her world. Life was good. She opened her eyes and it was then she saw it a dark silhouette of a man with a top hat walking in her garden below headed towards the gate. Nicole shot up on her feet and leaned into the window to get a better view. "What in the world is that?" she spoke aloud. The figure appeared to be a tall and slender man dressed in clothing that seemed from another time. "He looks like a mortician that you would see in a classic movie. "What the heck was he doing here and in her garden in particular". She slid to a seated position with her eyes never leaving the figure until he vanished in front of her eyes. Nicole gasped and said "What was that? Did he just vanish into thin air?

Nicole heard a shuffling noise and up popped Steve purring and butting her arm with his head as he climbed unto her lap. "Where did you come from fella she asked" and she immediately started stroking his back and patting him on the head. Georgina and her cat Steve lived in the house next door and the cat often took the liberty of entering the flap installed in the rear door in the pup on his behalf. Steve was always a welcome guest in the pub and upstairs. The cat closed his eyes and he stretched his frame out on Nicole's lap. Nicole asked Steve "did you see him too fella? Did yah?" Steve opened one eye and nudged her hand to keep patting. "Well I feel a lot safer now that you are here with me" Nicole said as her eyes drifted back to the garden below. "I wonder what that was" she mused. She decided that she would get in touch with Georgina after daybreak and invite her for brunch to talk things through. Little did she know that this was only the beginning of a series of events to come, that would forever change her view of the world as she knew it.