It was Halloween night, and Katherine was stuck babysitting. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go; she was planning on going to her friend’s party, not taking care of some whiny rich kid, but here she was. Honestly, though, she had only herself to blame. If she hadn’t blown her savings on the junk pile that was her car she wouldn’t be so low on cash now. The kid wasn’t so bad either. Sure, he was picky, but all 6 year olds are. Unfortunately, this knowledge didn’t raise her spirits. “It’s almost over,” she told herself after giving Joey, the kid, his dinner. “Next is bedtime, “she thought. Unfortunately for her, Joey disagreed,”No! I want dessert!” He screamed. Rather than take on the roaring child, Katherine hoped to appease him,” Fine, what do you want?” After getting an extensive list of toppings needed on multiple different kinds of ice cream, she sighed and went to the basement to retrieve the order. She shivered climbing down the stairs, and hurried as she quickly grabbed whatever looked like it would go on ice cream. She was about to head upstairs when something out of her peripheral vision caught her eye. When she turned toward it, she had to stifle a scream; a middle aged man was staring at her through the window. He was about twenty feet out, and wouldn’t have been so creepy if it weren’t for what he was wearing, for the man was dressed as a giant bunny. “It’s probably just his costume for some party.” she told herself before she sprinted up the stairs.
Katherine made the dessert, still unsettled, but feeling calmer. As she handed it to Joey, she saw a horrified look on his face. As she lowered her gaze, she realized that she had forgotten the whipped cream. She sighed, and before another tantrum could start, quickly ran down the stairs, as much as she dreaded it. She was quicker this time, and grabbed the topping immediately. As she began to go upstairs, she risked a glance at the window, only to see the man, but only 10 feet away from the window this time. When she got upstairs, she set the whipped cream down only to hear Joey cry again. “You forgot the cherries!” he whined. “Please, no. Just eat. I don’t want to go down again.” she pleaded. He was relentless, though, and out of fear of losing her job, she talked herself down. "It's just some guy going to a party." She told herself. This time she did not run, though. Instead she took slow, steady steps, a resigned look on her face. She stared directly at the window, attempting to face her fear, but she could not stifle her scream; the bunny man was right outside, gazing directly at her. No job was worth this horror. She leaped up the stairs in a way only someone who fears for their life can, and returned to the main floor, eyes darting about.
She hoped to call the police after checking on Joey, but the child was nowhere to be found. She searched the entire room, but he wasn't there. "Joey? Come out right now! This isn't funny!" She yelled. He made no appearance. Sighing, she decided a glass of milk would calm her nerves, but as she opened the fridge, she lost her lunch entirely; for here was Joey. His head had been removed, and lay in the freezer, with his body down below. She would never forget the look on his face; it was one of pure terror.
Later at the trial, she was asked about what happened. After she told her part of the story, Joey’s parents seemed confused. They fearfully said, “We don’t have a window in the basement. We only have a mirror.”
