So I sat down to write my blog for the week, and all of a sudden I heard it. It had been over a month since the last time. I thought it found another roof or attic. Or maybe it had finally had enough peace and quiet to begin its winter hibernation while we were away for ten days to California. I thought it was gone for good. But tonight, it’s back. The familiar scratching and clawing. The incessant rubbing against the opposite side of the ceiling above my desk in the sun room of our third floor apartment. The cats going crazy trying to figure out what the heck it is and how they can get closer to it. It is… (dun dun dun) … THE CREATURE ABOVE!
This is the name my wife came up with for it months ago, around the time when it seemed to have a marble that it constantly rolled around up there. We thought about calling….someone. LSTC maintenance? An exterminator? Animal control? Unsolved mysteries? We weren’t sure. At times it sounded like it was trying to claw through our ceiling—and I’m sure it was trying to get to the warmth it felt coming upward. We resolved to make an emergency maintenance call at the first sign of any substance falling from the ceiling. But then it stopped. No more noise. Until tonight.
One night, I caught a glimpse of it. I heard it fumbling over the gutter and figured it had to be making a descent down the side of the building. So I ran over to the window, and I saw it. First, one paw with long, two-inch claws. Then another. Then, it’s monstrous head poked over the side of the roof! Then two green eyes glowing in the night. We locked eyes for a second. It was…well, it was kind cute, actually. A raccoon. Not a small raccoon, mind you. I didn’t see the whole body, because after we locked eyes I guess I scared it back up to its abode over my head. But judging by the head, I’m sure it outweighs my 17 lb. cat. But while Sylvester may be big, he’s fairly harmless. Not so for the creature above. It may look cute—but seeing those claws and hearing those noises—it’s deadly.
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