Stark terror

It was about 11:30 p.m. last night (Sunday, January 6th, 2013).
I had gone to bed about an hour earlier.
I was not fast-asleep yet, but almost.
All-of-a sudden “Bing-Bong!” —Sounded like my doorbell.
Was I hearing things? Dreaming?
I tried to go back to sleep.
“Bing-Bong!”
No disputing it this time.
I got up in stark terror.
I don’t pack a pistol, and I’m now alone since my wife died.
Was someone ringing my doorbell at this hour?
I let my dog out, turning on the backyard lights.
Usually she goes over to the garage if someone rung my doorbell.
She didn’t this time.
I looked toward the garage. No one was at the door, nor was there a car in the driveway.
But I figured I better look out my garage people-door, where doorbell-ringers come.
I went into my garage without turning on the light. I didn’t wanna give myself away.
No one was outside, so why did I hear a doorbell?
My doorbell gives two signals: “Bing-Bong” at the front-door, but just “Bing” at the garage people-door.
What I heard was “Bing-Bong,” so maybe I was looking out the wrong door.
My dog usually goes bonkers at the doorbell, but she didn’t this time.
Was I actually hearing my doorbell?
“Wait a minute,” I thought to myself. “Did I actually turn my cellphone off?” It renders a “Bing-Bong” as its text-alert sound.
I tried it, and I had just received a text from Facebook at 11:30 p.m.
An old friend had posted a comment to my recent wall-post on her Facebook.
Mystery solved! I turned my cellphone off and went back to bed.
Although falling asleep was difficult with stark terror still in my head.

• My beloved wife of over 44 years died of cancer April 17th, 2012. Like me she was 68. I miss her dearly.