Thank God inspiration didn’t wait for me. Had it done so, I’d probably still be trying to ward off the person holding the knife.
I wasn’t trying to be inspired. I was trying to survive – literally trying to spare my own life. I knew if I didn’t hold the door closed then the knife in the hands of the other person would be slashing at my flesh.
Trapped in the back room of the house, nowhere else to run, all my weight pressed against wood, knowing the other person wouldn’t give up. That was when it happened.
Inspiration intervened.
‘Put your coat on and let them in,’ a small voice inside me whispered.
I looked at my coat hanging on the peg, a big thick skiing jacket. Would it protect me?
Maybe.
I unhooked it as I rested as much of my weight as I could against the door. Slipping it over my shoulders the small voice continued. ‘Now let them in a bit at a time. A crack in the door at first, then let it open. When you feel it’s right, pull them inside.’
It sounded bizarre to me, to allow someone attacking me to come beyond the piece of wood separating us, but...