The VISITATION

Evie sat bolt upright in bed, jolted from her dreamy sleep by a cacophonous crash. Had a thief smashed a window to break in? Were thugs battering their way into her precious new home?

Wide awake, she remained still, listening. She held her breath, the only sound the thundering of her racing heartbeat.

She pushed the covers back and reached under the bed for her old tennis racket. Her trembling hand searched for the familiar worn grip and she withdrew her makeshift weapon.

Padding across the stripped wood floor, she was startled as a gust of wind whipped the branches of an ancient cherry tree into a frenzied dance, casting grotesque silhouettes over the bedroom walls.

‘Calm down,’ she told herself. ‘I’ve probably left a window ajar and it’s been banging open.’ But creeping downstairs, Evie knew deep down this wasn’t the case. After living in a city centre flat with Paul, her ex-partner, she was still meticulous about security now she lived alone on the edge of a village.

‘I mustn’t let this get to me’