We dubbed our new house, The Bat House. One day, when we came home from a trip, we found a bat in our family room. It was hanging from one of Mom's curtains. Three girls and a bat is not a good combination. It's a horrible combo! We were frantic. I was beyond terrified and took Kristi upstairs to hide while Mom and Sarah figured out a game plan. We knew that they had attempted something when we heard the screaming. Loud bangs and deafening shrills came from below. The vacuum was being used. I heard cloth rip and more screaming, and even some flapping. And then, a sickening crunch. I ran downstairs just in time to see half of a bat sticking out of the vacuum tube before the rest of it was swallowed. I guess Mom had taken out the vacuum and figured she would vacuum it up. You're hoping that she gets it at the butt and that it slides down the tube. But no, Mom got the bat in the middle of its back! Imagine a vacuum tube in the middle of the spine, the body unwilling to be sucked down. And then, all of a sudden you hear this atrocious snap and the bat gets sucked into the tube. It literally folded into itself and flew down the tube.
Earlier that year, we had a bat in Grandma and Grandpa's house. I was brushing my teeth, getting ready for bed, when Sarah and Kristi started screaming from the peach room we stayed in. There was a bat circling the inside of our room. It was terrifying, especially because we didn't realize that there were bats in Minnesota. I was scared that it would bite me and suck my blood. I had only seen them in movies, the vampire ones. We yelled for Grandpa, sure that he would have some intense, massive weapon to protect us with. He nonchalantly walked up the stairs to us, a tennis racket in his hand. He quietly walked into the room, apparently unaware of the deathly creature that enveloped it. Without a word, he stood in one corner and lifted the racket above his head. We stared, eyes wide. The bat circled a few more times and then flew right into the racket and dropped to the ground! It was a miracle! He then put it on the racket and took it outside.
Our cousins, Alex and Ivy, came to visit us. It was Halloween and we wanted to put together a haunted house. It was going to be easy, because Grandma and Grandpa's house didn't need any changes to make it seem haunted. We didn't need to make cobwebs or add dust. We didn't need to make it look old or install flickering lights or squeaky doors. We made the parents and grandparents wait outside while we put everything together. It was decided that Alex would walk them through the music room and I would be at the piano, playing some scary music as he introduced his vampire self. The only scary tune I knew was the theme to Jaws. We cut a hole into the top of a cardboard box. Sarah jumped in and stuck her head out. We put potatoes around her head and found one of Grandma's silver platter lids. We were going to serve them her head. She would stare with an apple in her mouth. We peeled grapes and put them into a bowl for them to feel. At different times, we would take turns jumping out at them as they walked through. Mom and Aunt Barbara went through. They loved it and even acted scared for us. Then it was Grandma and Grandpa. Everything was going well; Sarah, who had the hardest job of holding still and looking dead, was giving an amazing performance. But, when Grandma came through, it all changed. Grandma started clapping after we scared her. She wanted to congratulate us on doing a good job. She squealed loudly, shrieked when we jumped out at her. Her yell came out in a huge, "Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!" Then, it was Sarah's time to put on a show. We lifted the lid for the grand reveal and after a few 'whoops', Grandma burst out laughing. She was so excited and happy and told Sarah that she was doing a good job between laughs. Sarah tried to hold on, but she couldn't and spat out her apple to laugh.
"Grandma! You're not supposed to laugh!"
After a successful night of scaring people, Alex and I sat at the top of the stairs. The house was dimly light, dark except for the front porch light. We were talking about what we wanted to do for next year's Halloween when something flew over us. You could feel the air move. I knew immediately that it was a bat and I whispered to Alex that we should get out, explaining that there was a bat. He didn't believe me.
"No, Lei! It's a large moth. That's all it is!"
It was the perfect end to our Halloween night.
