It was a cold and rainy afternoon. Nicole adjusted the throw pillow between her head and the arm of the couch, and pulled her feet underneath a blanket. She squirmed into the perfect reading position.
After two chapters, however, her arms grew tired. Ah well, all good things.
The wind and the rain picked up. The sky grew darker.
Nicole turned to face the back of the couch, which always made her sleepy. She didn’t fight it; besides, it was too dark to read there now. She set her book down on the end table.
Nicole was drifting, when a sudden, momentary brightness filled the room. She sat up just in time to hear the noise of thunder, and feel it rumbling, shaking the house. Nicole rocked herself to her feet and looked out the sliding glass door to her backyard. She had a sinking feeling that lightning had scorched one of the trees in the woods back there.
There was no sign of damage, so Nicole returned to the couch. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been napping when she heard the noise. It was a light, but resonating thump, definitely not thunder. It was steady, every two seconds.
Her living room was quite dark now, but it sounded like somebody knocking on her back door.
Nicole got off the couch and turned the lights on.
Outside the sliding door was an exact copy of Nicole, naked and wet from the rain, one fist slowly pounding on the glass.