Footsteps on Christmas Eve

It was surely coming towards us. I stopped breathing and covered my mouth with both hands. Any scream would give us away.

The creaking of the floorboards came closer to our room every second. My sister, Sarah, trembled in her thin pyjamas. I wanted to comfort her, but all I could do was move closer to her skinny little body, under my bed.

This Christmas Eve wasn’t supposed to be like this. The wooden floor under my bed, where my sister and I were hiding, felt cold. Mum should have put in carpet when she built this house. If Dad were still alive, he would definitely have insisted on carpet.

Mum was on her night shift at the hospital, because they pay more on holidays and at night. She just wanted to earn a little extra for our Christmas presents, not knowing that her being away would change everything.

The air conditioner wasn’t even making its usual noise, and outside the window, I could see our mango tree shaking in the night breeze.

…what happens next? You decide!