The day is so beautiful that Gracie just came inside for her morning nap. It’s quite late as the cats are already well into theirs. Fern, of course, grabbed all the morning sunlight streaming through the front door so Maddie is on the afghan. Gracie hit the couch.

Last night around 11:30 I noticed the back sensor lights were on. They were keyed to Gracie when she was younger and around 25-30 pounds so a possum or skunk wouldn’t trigger them. I was curious to know if something was in the yard so I went out to check. I saw nothing, and a few minutes later the lights went out. I had to laugh when I thought about the whole thing. If I were watching me do that in one of those B science fiction movies I love, I’d be sitting on the couch saying what an idiot that character is to go outside like that. Then when a rabid wild beast or a homicidal maniac with an axe or an alien hungry for human flesh got me, the me on the couch would not be surprised. Characters who follow blood trails or weird sounds in the woods always end up dead. The lights being on could have been a tip-off, but I went out anyway. Watching those movies, I’ve always wondered why the blood on the stairs wasn’t enough of a warning to make those characters run as fast as they could in the opposite direction, not upstairs, but I really knew it was one of those suspension of disbelief moments, a necessary plot detail, as no real person would ignore the blood. Because I always get into those movies, I often yell out loud, “Run!” as if I could save the character walking upstairs to his doom. Last night, though, I found out it isn’t only in movies. Even in real life people ignore the warning signs and walk blithely into the possibility of mayhem or impending doom. After my having ventured out to the deck, I’m going to re-evaluate calling those characters idiots. Maybe I’ll use curious or even brave.

The brave woman holding the kitchen knife in her hand followed the blood trail up the stairs.