Liz was doing her homework at the dining room table. Her younger sister Sarah was asleep upstairs. Their mother was out, but she was expected back any minute. When the front door opened and shut, Liz called, "Hello, Mama!" But her mother didn't answer. And the footsteps Liz heard were heavier, like a man's.
"Who's there?" she called. No one replied. She heard whoever it was walking through the living room, then up the stairs to the second floor. The footsteps moved from one bedroom to another. Again Liz called, "Who's there?" The footsteps stopped. Then she thought, "Oh, my God! Sarah is in her bedroom." She ran upstairs to Sarah's room. Only Sarah was there, and she was asleep. Liz looked in the other rooms, but found no one. She went back down to the dining room, scared out of her wits.
Soon she heard footsteps again. They were coming down the stairs, into the living room. Now they went into the kitchen. Then the door between the kitchen and dining room slowly began to open. . . . .
"Get out!" Liz screamed. The door slowly closed. The footsteps moved out of the kitchen, through the living room, toward the front door. The door opened and shut. Liz ran to the window to see who it was. No one was in sight. Nor were there any footprints in the fresh snow that had been falling.
