A Moment of Your Time

Heavy raindrops pelted against the window. I glanced out the window between the curtains. The night was still young, the sun setting not long ago. The downpour of rain made it difficult to see too much of anything outside.

I pulled the curtains closed settled on the couch with a blanket and reached for a book to occupy me during the storm. I had barely opened to the first page when I heard a knock at the door. The knock was so faint that I thought I had mistaken it for the pelting raindrops.

I shrugged and resumed reading my book pulling the blanket more snug around me.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

I startled as my eyes darted from the pages toward the front door. The knocks were much louder than before. So it wasn't just the rain.

I started for the door but hesitated. Who could be out in a storm like this? I waited a few more seconds hoping they would give up and leave on their own.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The knocks were louder and more persistent now. They were not leaving anytime soon.

I pulled back the curtains just enough to see who was standing on my porch and I dropped the curtains and stepped away from the window immediately.

Outside stood a man with a black cloak snug around him, the hood partially obscuring his face. Along with the heaviness of the rain, I couldn't tell if he was young or old or somewhere in between. He looked like the last person you'd dare open your door for and yet he stood there in a calm and expectant manner. There was something more strange about him than his looks but I couldn't explain it.

And then instead of another knock, he spoke, his words barely audible over the rain.

"Please, I only need a moment of your time." His voice was soft, its tone smooth and persuasive. And yet, I did not answer the door. Not at first.

I dared another glance out the window. He stood there in the same position as before but this time he noticed me and his eyes locked contact with mine.

My heart raced in fear now that he'd seen me. Behind the hood of the cloak that partially obscured his face, I no longer saw someone formidable and not to be trusted but instead saw a glimmer in his eyes as they lit up.

It was enough for me to relax and open the door.

A wide smile spread over the man's face still partially obscured as he moved towards me and reached down and picked up a suitcase that I had only now noticed.

My eyes moved suspiciously from the now eccentric man to the suitcase and back to the man again.

"Within this suitcase, I have some wondrous inventions you very well might be interested in."

I frowned, perplexed as I started to inch the door shut. "Oh, I don't think..."

But the man was already reaching into his suitcase to pull out the first of who knows how many inventions.

"Nonsense," the man smiled, his voice smooth. "Even the most skeptical can't resist these curiosities."

I held my breath feeling a strange combination of fear and amusement as he pulled out the first one.

***

This short story was loosely inspired by a dream I had. I figured I would write what I could remember about this dream before it faded completely.

Who was this man? A time traveler? Another sort of inter-dimensional traveler only trying to sell his inventions across different dimensions?

A villain?

The speculating is only half the fun!

If he is some sort of inter-dimensional traveler then surely he has some kind of magical powers!

One of the best things about dreams is that they give us story ideas our waking minds might not have ever considered! It's one reason why if you have a strange or interesting dream to just write it down. Even if you just remember bits and pieces of it. You never know what could become a story!