Just an average day...

This evening I left the house and found a dead body across the street.

I was going for a walk in the finally-cooled-off air and had only gone about 10 metres when I saw a body lying on the ground of a house, two doors down and over the road. Of course my first reaction was 'Holy Shit!' I stopped and took a cautious step onto the road. My feet were steady even if my heart wasn't. It was pounding hard and fast. It was a man and he was lying on some pavers just next to the gravel driveway. He wasn't moving. No chest rising. No eyelids flickering.

I stopped on the verge and called out 'Excuse me.' Yeah, I know, pretty silly. Excuse me like I was being impolite for disturbing his death and it wasn't him who'd ruined my perfectly peaceful new year. No movement. The thoughts racing around my head were so fast that I don't think I finishing thinking one before I was halfway through the next one. What had happened? Was there danger around? Someone in the house doing in the rest of the family? Should I call the police? No. First I had to check that he was dead (that was a pickle in itself - I would have to touch him to determine that if he didn't lift his head and tell me to get off his property).

I was about a metre away from him now and called out again, 'Excuse me.' It took two infinitely long seconds for him to open his eyes. My breath rushed out. 'You freaked me out,' I said, and then 'Are you alright?' He nodded and said yes then lowered his head back down. I didn't need an invitation - I walked away quickly.

Now you might think that I totally jumped to conclusions but you didn't see him there, lying so still and next to the letterbox (cause really, who relaxes there?). Plus, the book I'd just finished reading contained demons, bodies and blood. No more Nora Roberts 'Blood Brothers Trilogy' even in the daytime.

I continued on with my walk and posted a letter (all very normal) and made sure I came back the way I'd gone. He wasn't there. Buried out the back maybe?

So that was the highlight of my day. How was yours?

My roommate, James, gave me a Butterfinger from America which was really yum so I guess that was the other highlight in my very normal day.