Anxiety and Unease: Alone at Home
Fiction created by GPT based on this news article.
Once, in another lifetime, Jack had experienced being home alone for the first time in years. But now, as he watched his wife drive away, leaving him to his own devices, he felt an inexplicable sense of unease settle in the pit of his stomach. It wasn’t like his wife to just leave without a planning, and yet, here she was, off to some unknown destination.
He wandered around the house, feeling the weight of the silence pressing down on him. He didn’t know what to do with himself. There were so many possibilities, so many ways to spend his time, and yet he found himself unable to settle on any one thing. Maybe he’d end up slumped on the sofa, mindlessly flipping through channels on the TV. Or perhaps he’d fall asleep in the bath, a paperback floating by his feet.
As Jack made his way downstairs, he noticed the evidence of someone else’s presence. A pair of large shoes in the hall, a rucksack on the kitchen table. It was clear that the oldest of his sons had stayed the night, slipping in after his mother left. Jack sighed and pulled on his coat, deciding to go to the store to pick up some milk.
When he returned, the oldest one was still nowhere to be found. It wasn’t until Jack had fed the cat for the third time that his son finally emerged from his room.
“Where were you last night?” Jack asked, trying to hide his annoyance.
“Just around here,” his son mumbled hoarsely. “Out with Eddy and Sam.”
“How are they?” Jack inquired.
“They’re good,” his son replied. “I think I invited them to lunch.”
“Did you?” Jack raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, I did,” his son nodded.
Jack sighed and looked into the fridge. “Okay, that should be fine. I might have to send you to the shops to get, like, potatoes. And beer.”
“I don’t want to think about beer right now,” his son said, head in hands. “But yeah, I’ll go.”
Before they could say anything else, the middle one walked in, throwing his keys on the table and asking if there was any food. The three of them spent the afternoon together, a sense of unease lingering in the air.
By early evening, the boys had left and Jack found himself alone for the first time. But instead of feeling a sense of relief, he felt an overwhelming sense of anxiety wash over him. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but something felt off.
The next day, Jack was woken up early by the cat, and an unexpected text message informed him that a package would be delivered that morning. As he shuffled around the house, waiting for the doorbell to ring, he couldn’t shake the feeling of unease that had settled over him.
But the doorbell didn’t ring, and by midday Jack was staring at his phone, the battery rapidly draining, with no sign of the promised package. The only thing he had received was a picture of a French horse from his wife.
In a fit of frustration, he finally made a run for his office to grab his laptop charger. As he sat back down, the cat came over, demanding to be fed for the third time. And that’s when he got the notification that the package had been delivered - to someone named Dave.
Who was Dave? And why did he have Jack’s package? It made no sense, and as Jack scrolled through the tracking link and saw the picture of Dave, he couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine.
By the time the doorbell rang, Jack was on edge. But when he opened the door, it wasn’t the package he was expecting. Instead, it was for the house next door.
Confused and frustrated, Jack accepted the delivery and closed the door, feeling a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something was very wrong, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched, that something sinister was at play.
As he sat alone in the house, the silence pressing in around him, Jack couldn’t ignore the feeling of dread that had settled over him. There was something off about the whole situation, something that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. And as the hours passed, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was not alone in the house.