A Shower At 3 am

Andrew stepped into the shower, which had become hot and inviting after running for several minutes.  It was early, a little after 3 am, and he hoped that his shower time would not awaken anyone.  His daughter Sarah whose bedroom was across the hall was usually up late on Friday nights and preferred to sleep in.  He did not worry about his wife Kim as she liked to leave the fan on at night... the noise helped her sleep.  She would not be disturbed by the sound of the shower.  His son Tyler slept like a rock and often fell asleep to war movies... so he was not a concern either.

It was another one of those sleepless nights Andrew had been experiencing lately.  Eventually after tossing and turning for an hour, reading the scores on his phone and playing you tube videos quietly he decided he might as well get up and make it official.  He sometimes liked the early morning hours; it was very quiet and he could spent extra time in his office working on various projects, writing in particular.  He found some of his best story inspirations came before the sun breached the horizon.  Besides, he could take a nap this afternoon if necessary.

Andrew was standing in the shower spray making small adjustments to the stream temperature when he heard a quiet knock on the door.  "Yes?" he said, trying not to respond too loudly.  He listened for a few moments, the hot water striking his chest and sending tiny rivers of warm water down his torso.  There was no response.  The knock came again. "Come in!" he said, preparing to poke his head out through the shower curtain if needed.  Again, there was no response.  Andrew resumed his shower, figuring that whomever it was must have heard him and went back to bed... or maybe it just was not that important.

Suddenly the shower curtain was abruptly shoved aside and there stood Sarah, staring at him with a horrified look on her face.  Andrew recoiled and covered his private parts. "Sarah! What are you doing in here?" he squirmed, retreating to the corner of the shower.  Water was spraying out of the shower and onto the floor. Andrew reached down and turned off the water, always concerned about water damage to the room below.

Sarah turned and ran from the room, obviously upset.  Shaken, Andrew carefully stepped out of the shower and dried off then put on his pajama bottoms and t-shirt.  He took a few moments to soak up the puddle that had formed on the bathroom floor then walked to Sarah's room across the hall.  The door was slightly ajar.  "Sarah, are you OK?" he whispered as he stepped through the door.  In the darkened room, it appeared that Sarah was underneath her bed covers.  There was a muted light emanating from underneath, as if she was looking at her mobile phone.

Andrew approached her bedside and touched her shoulder. "Sarah?..."

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Sarah awakened at 3 am to the noise of the shower across the hall.  This seemed a bit odd, although lately stress had been affecting everyone in the house so routines were all over the place.  She was feeling mildly hung over having returned from her friends house only two hours ago.  Recent events had left her feeling in need of some normalcy and for once she accepted her friend's invitation to hang out and relax.  

She decided to get up and investigate, thinking that she could grab a glass of water and some Tylenol.  She approached the bathroom door and knocked quietly three times.  She listened intently for a response, her ear positioned a few inches from the door.  After hearing nothing she tried again, this time a bit louder.  Still, there was no response.  Sarah gently opened the door a crack. "Hello?" she said, nervously.

At this point Sarah poked her head into the bathroom.  The curtain was fully drawn and steam was filling the room. "Is anyone in here?" she inquired.  She was certain she could see someone behind the curtain.  Her heart in her throat, she reached for the curtain and ripped it aside.  As hot steamy water sprayed on the floor, Sarah was certain she could see the misty outline of someone cowering in the corner of the shower... but there was no one there.  Frightened, she nearly slipped on the wet floor as she turned off the water and ran from the room, leaping into her bed and taking refuge under the covers.  She curled up, trembling, then reached from under her covers and grabbed her phone.  She clutched her phone for several minutes, crying softly, then turned it on and fumbled to the photo library.  She opened a picture of her father, Andrew.  It was a picture taken last summer when she and her dad were on a hike together.

"Daddy... was that you?", she sobbed, "Daddy... I miss you so..."

She felt something touch her shoulder.