SCARED TO DEATH-SLEEP

I’M ALIVE!!!!!!!

Yes!

My eyes opened this morning!

I took a big deep thankful breath of  . . .

Damn it!

Stinky air!

What is that smell?

Last night, I was sitting on the couch watching TV when . . .

WAA WAA WAA WAA WAA   UPSTAIRS.

WAA WAA WAA WAA WAA   DOWNSTAIRS

Both of my smoke detectors were blaring at the same time.

My heart thudded as I catapulted off the couch and ran into the kitchen and checked the burners on the stove to see if I had left one on.

Nope.

WAA WAA WAA WAA WAA  UPSTAIRS

WAA WAA WAA WAA WAA  DOWNSTAIRS

Grabbing one of my cutting boards, I ran into the adjacent hallway and frantically waved it at the smoke detector.

When that smoke detector shut off, I ran up stairs and waved the cutting board at the smoke detector in that hallway.

No sooner had this one stopped, than the one downstairs began blaring again.

Up and down I raced for about ten minutes waving my cutting board at both till they finally stopped.

And all the while my mind raced. My eyes scanned.

What was setting them off?

I didn’t see any flames, let alone smoke.

Although I did smell something.

But not smoke.

It smelled like candles when you blow them out.

I had been smelling this scent for several days now.

It was subtle, and not offensive.

I thought maybe the plug-in air freshener from Bath & Body Works had gone wild.

A week ago, I plugged four into sockets in different rooms, each with a different fragrance.

Trust me, one is enough in a small apartment.

The first time I walked in my apartment after having plugged all of them in, my nostrils were attacked by dueling chemical fragrances. I took three out and left the one in the kitchen

Suddenly, I remembered that these plug-ins can cause a fire.

I ran to the one plugged in the kitchen socket and sniffed.

Nope. No odor. And it wasn’t hot to the touch. I took it out, just in case.

I then thought maybe it was the neighbors cooking/burning something.

I opened the front door.

Nothing.

I opened the back door,

Nothing.

Could it be my furnace?

I opened the door in my living room where the furnace is located.

Nothing.

I sat back on the couch without a clue what in the hell set the smoke detectors off.

A few minutes later, I looked at the clock on the cable box. Time to go to bed.

I was not only sleepy, but exhausted from this trauma.

As I walked up stairs, I noticed the carbon monoxide detector. 

The green light was on, so at least there were no noxious fumes mixed in with the odor.

I hoped.

Before climbing into bed, I opened the bedroom window to let some fresh air in.

It would also give me a head start if I had to jump out the window in case of a fire.

I didn’t know what else to do this late at night other than to just go to sleep.

It was too late to call the apartment manager—or anyone—to figure this mystery out.

I lay there, ready to say my usual prayers of thanks and forgiveness, when I realized . . .

I COULD DIE TONIGHT!

My ability to fall asleep fast and deep, and stay asleep throughout the night could be my demise.

And for the first time since I was a little girl, I thought of this prayer,

     Now I lay me down to sleep

     I pray the Lord my soul to keep

     If I should die before I wake.

     I pray the Lord my soul to take.

Scary prayer for a little kid. 

Especially when I had no idea what would make me die while I was sleeping.

But last night, with possible deadly fumes infiltrating my lungs while I slept it occurred to me . . .

It's not the prayer that's so scary.

But dying before I'm a published author is!

Always, Em-Musing

P.S. I'll keep you posted.