I was an 8 year old girl once.

My parents were going through a very hard time after the recession hit, so we ended up living with my brother and his family. He owned a 3 bedroom townhouse and his in-laws lived in the basement. It was a lot of people living together. <br><br>When I was little, I slept a lot. If I were to stay up through the night for any reason, I would have to sleep on the couch because my room was far away and there was a big window in it with a huge blind that we couldn’t open. One night, I couldn’t sleep and decided I wanted to lay in my bed. I was on the bed, crying because I wanted out of the room when I heard footsteps outside the door. It was at first faint, as if someone was walking by, then it sounded like someone was walking back and forth just outside my room. I got really scared. I didn’t know anyone to call to wake up. I didn’t want to leave. In the midst of my panic, I called 911. I talked to the woman on the phone in hushed tones, asking the same questions she was asking me. I was so scared. The woman assured me that everything would be ok, that she was safe, that she was going to take care of me. She told me that she was sending over police officers to check out the house. I was so relieved. <br><br>If it wasn’t for that woman and police officers that night, I don’t know what would’ve happened to me. But if I had known, I probably wouldn’t have been more scared than I was. <br><br>An hour after I called dispatch I saw the police officers shining their flashlights into my room. I was safe.<br><br>The next morning, I talked to an officer in my brother’s room. He told me that he and another officer were patrolling the road in front of my house, that she was supposed to patrol the back side of the street, but that she had patrolled in front of the house with him. That’s how they had arrived at my house so quickly. <br><br>I don’t know if I believe in old wives’ tales, but the woman on dispatch that night saved me.<br><br>I talked to my mom and dad about this the other night over drinks. We went over everything, recounted the years, and thought back to see if we had old pictures or videos from that time period. I didn’t remember the details of that night, but my dad had an explanation for everything. I was a little kid, I thought I was going crazy.<br><br>My mom said it was a little kid’s imagination.<br><br>But I’ve heard my mom say the same thing before. Things that were too real, too scary. Things that she wouldn’t tell me until she was drunk. Even more than I loved my mom, I hated her for not believing me.<br><br>Blacks burglarized our house in the middle of the night. He was soon caught.<br><br>There were strange men following me around in a car as I rode my bike. I started walking my dog at night and didn’t ride my bike.<br><br>A man walked into our house while my sister and I were in the bathtub. My mom and dad heard us screaming and ran to the bathroom. We told them someone was in the house. They searched. They told us that there was nobody there.<br><br>For the longest time, I didn’t trust anyone.<br><br>But I grew up, and learned how to trust. I learned how to love. I learned how to pick out the crazies in my life. And my life is a lot better now.<br><br>I still think about the cop who saved me, and the woman on dispatch. I wish I could tell them thank you for saving me.