Tameka slumped over her desk for the third night in a row. Reading and researching information for her presentation. She has two days left before the deadline. Eyes red and feeling groggy, she continues well into the midnight hour.
A lot is riding on this presentation. She knows if she does not land this account, it will be devastating to her career. She wants to advance in the company and will do what it takes to achieve her goals.
Slurping down the last sip of her energy drink, she frowns. It doesn’t seem to work for her since she has been at it for a few days. “I think I’m immune, these energy drinks are not working. I can’t keep my eyes open,” she says.
Night Drive
A late Saturday night in April. The air is warm, breezy, and comfortable. It’s 10:19 pm and Tameka is in the car alone, driving home with the windows down. Hair blowing and enjoying the night. Bumping Hit and Run by Loleatta Holloway. The speakers are blasting and she is vibing. Looking up at the beautiful starlit sky, she exhales and smiles.
Thoughts go through her mind about the visit she just had with a friend, the nice time and great conversation. It felt good to get out for a few hours and have some adult conversation; and beverages too. The late nights putting together the presentation was taking a toll. She needed the break.
She arrives home and pulls up to the front of the townhouse. The parking lot is dark and eerily quiet. Not a soul is in sight. Nothing can be heard except the song of the night critters and crickets chirping. Tameka turns the ignition off and surveys her surroundings one last time. Grabs her pocketbook and gets out.
The Shock
Just as the car door closes behind her, she notices the light is on in the kitchen. It is on the lower level of the two-story townhouse. She thought to herself, it was off when I left; I think. She shrugs and proceeds to wedge the keys between her fingers.
Immediately, she can feel that something is wrong. Turning the key, she can tell the door is already unlocked. She pushes the door open and stands on the stoop looking inside. “What the hell?” hysterically yelling.
Little Red, her shorthaired dachshund, is frantically running around the house, panting in a flurry. She calls out to him, but he keeps running up and down the stairs. She can see his big, floppy ears flapping as he is running. Her first thought is, how did you get out? She left him in the front bedroom behind a locked door.
The sheer curtains are blowing in the back bedroom window upstairs. Both levels of the townhouse are visible from the doorway, as it is a split-level floorplan.
She can’t lift her legs, they feel heavy like cement. Unable to catch her breath, her heart starts beating faster. Her mind is racing and she thinks to herself, how did the window get open? She runs inside to Little Red, picks him up and bolts out the front door. He leaped from her arms into the car, and she gets in and locks the door.
With one hand on the cell phone and the other on the steering wheel, she put the car in reverse and dialed 911. Then she drives up the street, makes a U-turn and put the car in park; just far enough away to see the front door. The townhouse is a brick, two story end unit. From the front you can see the kitchen window on the lower level and the front bedroom right above it. The back of the townhouse is wooded. A perfect place for a burglar to hide.
The Wait
Thumping in her chest her heart is still beating fast, and her stomach is swirling. The only thing she can hear is her fast heartbeat and Little Red panting. She can feel his hot breath on her arm.
“Where are the police? I called them 20 minutes ago!” she screamed. At that moment, she feels something moist, wet and rough like sandpaper on her face. Little Red walks his big paws up to her chest to lick her face. The muscles in her face and shoulders relax instantly. She smiles for a second and rubs his furry body in appreciation.
Meanwhile, she refocuses her gaze on the front door. No one went in or came out. She knows whoever broke in is long gone. She was only out for about two hours. I bet someone was watching me when I left. Getting angry again, she clenches her teeth and jaw. Balls up her fist and feels a hot wave move through her entire body. Who would do this and what did they want?
Authorities
A crime scene van and two police cars finally arrive about 45 minutes later. She gets out of her car and flags the officers, just as they were about to approach her front door. The tall officer asked her what happened, while the cop with the short stature stood by and listened. She told them when she came home her dog was out and the back bedroom window was open. The officer proceeded to draw his weapon and told her to step aside.
Finally, after five minutes, which felt more like five hours, the cop comes out. He says “No one is inside. It’s all clear. Please go in and look around. Let me know if anything is missing.”
Shakily, with trembling hands and wobbly legs, she walks past him. About to cross the threshold, she stops and before going in asked, “are you sure no one is inside?” He nods his head up and down. Little Red starts barking and upset that he was left in the car. Tameka gets him out and carries him inside.
Walk Through
The back bedroom was ransacked. Someone was clearly looking for something. The closet doors are open with hangers and clothes spilled out on the floor. Prophylactics are spread out all over the bed and in front of the nightstand. Meanwhile she is thinking, how embarrassing they all up in my business. As she is looking around, the police are dusting for prints at the window, nightstand and closet doors.
The cop walks over and tells her, “The screen was taken out with a No. 2 pencil. It is how the burglar gained access to the house. The perp climbed on top of your storage unit out back. Jammed the pencil into the screen and yanked it out”
“What! A pencil took out the window screen? Wow!” she responded in disbelief shaking her head.
The officers asked her if she left the window open in the bedroom. Admittedly, she had. Thinking to herself, the bedrooms are on the upper level, I thought it was safe. Why would anyone climb up to the second story. It’s not like they couldn’t have easily broken in downstairs, through the living room window or back door.
The police finished taking a report and asking questions. The tall officer said to her, “this is the fourth call this month about a break in, and the intruder used a pencil to take the screen out. We call him, the No. 2 Bandit.” After everyone left, she quickly locks the door and checks all the doors and windows.
Dust Settling
She starts to straighten out the mess. Her mind is racing and she keeps wondering about who would do this. What did they want. The biggest question is; why me? A feeling of violation makes her shudder. Now talking out loud to herself, “A stranger was in my house. I have no idea who it could be or why I was targeted.”
Moving forward, all windows will be closed when leaving the house, she is thinking. And I will not take anything for granted. Ironically, it’s not like her to leave a window open or a door unlocked. Of course, the one-time she leaves an upstairs window cracked, someone breaks in. What are the odds.
She is alone with Little Red. He keeps following her around the house. He senses that she is still shaken up. Dogs have that innate ability. It wasn’t until that night that she felt unsafe going to sleep. She turns on the tv and eventually falls asleep around 3:30 am.
Wake Up Call
Slowly, coming back to consciousness, Tameka can hear the sound, beep, beep, beep- beep, beep, beep- beep, beep, she opens her eyes to see the bland beige ceiling. She turns to look over at the clock and swats it to stop the alarm. It is six o’clock in the morning on a Sunday and the sun is beaming. Time for her to get ready for church.
She sits up and yawns. Drops her legs down to the floor and slides into her fuzzy slippers. As she tries to stand, her knees buckle and she grabs the edge of the mattress. She holds her hands out in front of her and they are trembling.
Upon opening the curtains., she can see the window is intact with the screen in place. No sign of dusting powder from the crime scene unit. She bends down to get a closer look at the screen to find the hole that was made last night with the pencil. The screen is in place without any holes at all.
The Realization
Scratching her head and with a puzzled look she gasps. Did I dream this whole thing about the No. 2 Bandit? She rushes to the nightstand and opens the drawers. Everything is in place and untouched. She then walks over to the closet, and it is just the way she left it. Not a dress out of place, shoes are all lined up, everything is still hung neatly.
Totally confused she says, “I need a vacation, the stress is killing me.”
Summation
Tameka is on edge and under pressure to get the presentation finished. She knows that a lot is riding on this. Her aspirations of advancement would be shattered if she did not ace the presentation. The stress she is under caused her to have a stress/anxiety dream. She dreamt about being burglarized.
It did not help that she underestimated the time commitment to complete the project. Tameka did not get started early enough to avoid the undue anxiety she is experiencing.
Stress and anxiety can cause a host of physical problems. Including, having an effect on our sleep patterns. Causing moodiness and brain fog. Lack of sleep can cause us to lose focus. It is important to limit stress as much as possible.
Suggestions to try:
- Journal for a minimum of 10 minutes, write about things you are grateful for.
- Secondly, reduce caffeine intake, especially close to bedtime. We tend to guzzle coffee to help stay awake through long projects. Unfortunately, coffee is a stimulant and can affect our sleep pattern. It can make us wake up feeling groggy and not well rested, which can affect mood.
- Listen to soothing music close to bedtime. It will have a relaxing effect to help you wind down.
- During your project, take regular breaks. Take a break once every hour, then dive back in.
- Exercise during the early part of the day will help with reduction of cortisol and also help to reduce stress.
Thank you for reading. 💖🙏🏽