Chasing the Boogeyman

by Richard Chizmar

Life works like that. Something else—good, bad, indifferent—always comes along and helps us on our way.

This is what you do when you have a family. You get up when it’s still dark outside and you go to work so the people you love can have a better life. Even when you’re sick or tired and don’t want to.

Nothing was ever the same again after that night. The world had changed—had grown—and there was nothing I could do to stop it. We all grew up. Moved away. Lost touch. Even me. Right then, sitting alone in my car, heart aching, sudden tears stinging the corners of my eyes, I would’ve given anything in the world to go back in time and be that crazy teenager again.

Change the light in the room, she’s fond of saying, and you never know what you might see.