Effie

John had fallen asleep early and was dead to the world when the banging began. A few raps at first, then some real banging. John's roused from his sleep and looks around the darkened room and he listens. He's not surewho was making such a fuss at this hour. What hour, he thinks and looks. Three o'clock in the bloody morning. Morning, it's called, and yet it's pitch dark outside.

The banging only intensifies and he goes from being annoyed to being moderately afraid. What if someone's hurt? What if they need help? That's what he's thinking as he stumbles from his bedroom to the front door, flipping on a light as he goes.

Once he's at the door he hesitates a moment even in the face of rap-rap-bang-bang-rap-rap-pound. He hesitates then and he peeks out the hole in the door. Handy thing, that. When he sees who it is he immediately opens the door.

"Effie, my god...are you all right? Come in. Come in, oh...you're crying. Oh, god...come in..."