The Weight on the Bed

I have never told anyone this. It makes me sound insane. As a child,

I would feel someone sit on my bed. Years later, Mom confessed she

locked my door every single night. My Aunt Martha whispered, You are the

one who told her. About the man who smelled like cigarettes.

But my parents never smoked. Only my Uncle Elias did. I realized the

door was not locked to keep things out. It was locked to keep me

in.