The Boy At The House (18)

A couple of minutes later the whole gang is standing looking at the snoring figure in the couch.
"I wonder if he would wake up if we smashed saucepan lids", says Dilan.
"Shall we try it?", Luke says.
"No, stop it, he is sleeping deeply, but we must make up a plan", says Daniel.
They spread out in the room, maybe to make thinking easier, maybe to escape from thinking. There are plenty of windows and they can look out in all directions except towards the sea. Paula approaches a window. On the window shelf there are lots of tiny figures standing. They are warriors, soldiers, astronauts, ship captains, musceteers and lots of other small figures in plastic. Some are painted yellow, red, blue and green, some are fully grey.
"Is it you that has painted these?" Paula asks and looks towards Richard.
"Yes, most of them. Some dad has made."
Luke stands watching a little table, also on this are plastic figures, and there are also some small paint tins and a glass with brushes.
Suddenly the snoring stops and the man moves in the couch.

The Boy At The House (17)

Daniel approaches the stairs. But wait a sec? Isn't that snoring he's hearing? Yes, it is. He slowly sneaks down the creaking glossy-painted wooden stairs. Gina comes after him. Once down in the hallway they sneak towards where the snoring comes from - the big room. When they peek into the big room they immediately spot him. He is lying on his back in a brown couch and is sleeping. Daniel and Gina relax somewhat and look at each other, and then go a little closer to look at the figure in the couch. It is a big man, wearing carpenter trousers and a dirty white T-shirt with holes in it. A large portion of the face is covered with a grey-streaked beard stubble. At his side on the floor there is an empty liquor bottle. The room is messy and there are newspapers, beer cans, dirty plates, glasses and cuttlery on the sofa table and on the floor.
"Okay?" says Gina and smiles.
"Yeah", says Daniel.

The Boy At The House (16b)

Paula wakes up by a yelling seagull. The room is totally bright, and Gina and Daniel are standing at the window looking out. The window is wide open. Paula looks around in the room. Everybody is awake except Richard, who is totally wrapped inside a light-blue quilt. His blond, curly hair is sticking out.
"Okay, it's already late", says Daniel and smiles. "Time to do things."
Dilan bends over Richard. "Mmmmm", he says with a muffled voice close to the curly hair in some attempt to imitate an angry animal. The curly hair turns around and the sleepy face of Richard appears.
"Good morning Richard", Paula says and smiles.
Richard smiles back. "Good morning".
"You've got a mission", Dilan says to Richard. "Stand up, soldier."
"Okay, I was down out the hallway out here a little while ago, and it's totally silent down there. I think he's either gone or sleeping", says Daniel.
"Exactamente!!" Dilan says decisively and points with a finger right out in the air and then does a soldier's salute at his forehead with two fingers. "Let's rock and roll!" He ruffles Luke's hair and then throws himself towards Richard and ruffles his hair too. Both these throw themselves over Dilan and they whirl around in a wrestling battle.
"Shhhh", Gina says. "What if he is outside?" She points towards the window. The boys look up.
"So what?" "Y?" Luke says and they continue wrestling, tickling each other and giggling.
Daniel goes to the door and unlocks it. The boys ceise wrestling and get up one after the other. Suddenly all of them are standing up. Daniel disappears to the hallway.

The Boy At The House (16a)

"What did he look like?" Luke asks silently, so that it won't be heard outside the room.
"I don't know. I couldn't see really. Big, untidy. What can I say. I think he had blue clothes", says Daniel, almost whispering. "Some kind of beard."
"What did he break?" Dilan asks.
Daniel shrugs his shoulders.
"I'll kill him", says Richard.
"You won't", says Gina.
Daniel looks at Richard, who looks sad. He puts his arm around him, and so does Gina. And Dilan.
"Richard, we'll solve this. I think he's drunk, right? It sounded like it."
"Yes, he drinks", says Richard.
A tear is falling from Richard's eye.
"Okay", says Daniel and looks at the others. "Now let's go to bed and try to sleep. I don't think we should do anything as long as he is drunk. We wait till the morning and then we sneak down again and take a look. Okay?"
"Okay", says Paula.
"Okay", says Dilan.
Dilan pulls his arm away from Richard's shoulder and instead raises it up in the air with the inside facing Richard. Richard gets it and smiles. Silently but decisively their hands meet in a "High Five".

The Boy At The House (15)

Daniel and Richard carefully walk down the stairs. The first steps don't sound, but then the creaking begins. They have to take one step, then stop, then another and stop again. Each time they stop they hear the sounds of him downstairs. But they have to go all the way down to be able to see anything. Daniel reaches first and sticks out his head and peeks through the hallway. He hears somebody slamming and pottering about in the kitchen. Suddenly a giant man comes out of the kitchen and Daniel immediately pulls backhis head. His heart beats ten times over, but the man doesn't seem to come towards the stairs at least. After a little while he sticks out his head again. Nobody in sight, but now you can hear the man is in the living room. Suddenly there is a sound of a crash and glass breaking.
"Arghh!" a rough voice says.
Daniel turns around and looks at Richard. Richard doesn't look happy. Daniel swallows.
"We'd better go up", he whispers.
"Yes", Richard whispers dejectedly.

The Boy At The House (14)

Out on the sea it is dark by now. The wind has increased a little and the waves strike the rocks a little harder. Up in the sleeping room the six figures are lying totally still, spread out partly under the quilts. From five of them regular breathing and mild snoring is heard. Between Dilan and Paula are some comics. From Daniel neither hearable breathing nor snoring is heard, but his eyes are closed.
Suddenly a rasping sound is heard. Daniel's eyes open. It becomes silent again. But then there's another sound, then some more. Daniel sits up and listens intensively. He stretches towards Gina and pokes at her. She immediately opens her eyes.
"Listen", he says.
Gina blinks sleepily some times but tries to concentrate. Yes, there is a sound. There is no doubt it is from the bottom floor.
"What do we do?" says Daniel.
Gina looks at him.
"I think it's better if everybody is awake", says Gina.
"Okay." They poke at the others, and soon everybody is sitting up, tense, listening.
Daniel takes a deep breath.
"Okay, this is what we do." I'll sneak down carefully to see what he's up to. Then we'll make a plan."
"Shouldn't Richard go down instead, he knows him", says Dilan.
Everybody looks at Richard.
"You don't have to", says Daniel.
"I'll follow you", says Richard. "If he sees something, we pretend it's only me."
"Exactly", says Daniel.
"We'll stay here and pray for you", Gina says.
Paula shuffles towards Gina and puts her arm around her. Daniel and Richard raise up. Richard carefully unlocks the door and he and Daniel sneak out in the entrance of the second floor.

The Boy At The House (13)

Some hours later the whole gang is gathered in one of the sleeping rooms on the upper floor. One of the walls has an orange surface because of the setting sun. The window is a slightly open and the seagulls are heard from a distance. On the floor there are four worn matresses and some quilts.
"Are you sure he won't come up here?" Paula asks.
"Stop it, Paula, okay?", says Dilan. "He's already said like five times he never comes up here. And the door up here is locked."
"But what if he starts beating on it?"
"We have to trust God will protect us, Paula", says Daniel.
"He's not even here. He might never come back", says Luke.
"Shall we pray a little as we said?" says Gina.
"Good idea", Daniel responds.
They gather in a little circle on the floor and pray. When they are finished they pull the quilts over themselves.
"Sure the door is locked?" says Paula.
Dilan rolls with his eyes. He makes an scary face to Paula and grabs her shoulders and tickles her. She laughs.
"Shhhhhh!" says Paula.
"Okay, now let's calm down", says Daniel.