Sandwich for the Attic Angel

The old widow heard noises in her walls. The pest man came and set some traps
but caught no rats at
all. Yet, now and then she rapped the wall and it knocked back. Now how was
that? Maybe John, her
husband, came just like she’d always hoped.
Three knocks means hello. Message from the attic angel! Three knocks,
I miss you. Message from the
attic angel!
She fixed her makeup, wore that blouse (his favorite from before),
and danced around the house. She
set a sandwich on a plate. Outlandish! But, he might be hungry. When she
checked, the lunch was gone.
The radio played their wedding song. Was it a sign?
Three knocks means thank you. Sandwich for the attic angel! Three knocks,
I miss you. Sandwich for the
attic angel!
Nighttime fell. She woke, alarmed. Draped in cobwebs: the man who’d lived
inside her walls. Three
knocks called him down. Living with the attic angel! He dragged her up to his
nest where they lived
unhappily after.