The Clown Was Always Inside

My sister thought the clown outside was a prank. For two weeks, it stood under the

streetlight by her apartment, never moving, never blinking. She laughed it off,

even took pictures. Then one night, she looked out and it was gone. She felt relieved

until she checked her phone. Seventy three photos of herself sleeping, all taken from inside

her room, all timestamped throughout those two weeks. The last photo was

from five minutes ago. She heard squeaking footsteps coming up her stairs.

The clown was never outside watching her. It was inside the whole time,

only going outside when she looked.