You know those people who always have to peek behind the shower curtain before going to the bathroom to make sure there’s not a serial killer hiding in there? I’m one of them.
If the shower curtain is completely obscuring my vision from the bath tub, I have to take a quick glance behind it. This weird compulsion is not because I am afraid of ax murderers and rapists, per se. It’s more I just check to make sure that no one is in the room with me at all.
Now I bet you’re thinking, “Wow, Patty. That’s really stupid. Who would want to just hang out in the shower and wait for you to walk into the bathroom and possibly murder you with a loofah?” Well, my friends, this strange quirk of mine can be traced back to a single experience I had when I was nine years old. And, believe it or not, the movie "Psycho" had nothing to do with it whatsoever.
It was a hot summer day and I was playing Hide-and-Seek with my cousins.
I had the brilliant idea to hide in the shower in the bathroom. There were limited places to hide out that weren’t completely obvious, like a closet or under the bed, and that place seemed to be the best bet.
I crouched there like a tiger, hidden from view like a dragon, silently giggling at my masterful camouflage.
Be mindful that at this time there were twelve unwatched children running around loose in our house. My aunt and uncle have eight kids, and I am one of four. The younger girls and I were the ones playing Hide-and-Seek, and the others were just doing whatever.
16 people altogether. We had two bathrooms.
And instead of choosing to conceal myself in my parents’ master bathroom, I chose the “community” toilet.
The next few moments happened like this:
I managed to scream and run away before I saw anything that would make me want to gouge my eyes out. But the memory still haunts me to this day.
My cousin didn’t check that he was alone before doing his business, and something regretful almost happened. This scenario has stuck with me for eleven years, and is the reason why I always peek around beforehand.
But it does have me wondering… What would happen if there actually were a serial killer hiding in the shower?
And so, the moral of our story is:
"Take a peek before taking a leak."
~El Fin~
