In The Middle Of The Night

At one o’clock in the morning the dog barked, a short, single yip.  Not enough to be alarming, but enough to wake me from a pleasant night’s sleep.  The rising moon lit up my room outlining the shape of my reading chair and lamp.  It seemed someone was sitting there gazing back at me.  I rubbed my eyes and looked again at the empty chair.  It must have been my imagination.  I closed my eyes and went to sleep.

The dog barked.  My eyes flew open to sunlight shinning through the window and the dog curled up on my chair.