The Dark Figure

Perhaps it was some sort of stalker with special abilities; capable of reading minds, moving at the speed of thought, and disappearing in the blink of an eye. With its ability to read minds, it could follow closely behind its subject, and then vanish at the instant the subject thinks of turning around. I however had a quirky way of suddenly turning without reason or thought.

Our encounter occurred one summer afternoon while I was walking in the alley behind our house. Impulsively, I suddenly spun around, and there it was standing before me. It apparently had been observing me from behind. And because my turning was not premeditated, my thoughts had not pre-warned it to vanish. I had caught it completely off guard.

It resembled a man, but it was clearly something else. It stood approximately seven feet tall, had broad shoulders, and was darker than any color I had ever seen. It felt as though I was looking into another dimension; that if I had stepped through it, I would have been in another place. I could not see its expression, for it had no facial features, eyes, nose, nor mouth. But it was clearly alarmed. I know this because I could somehow hear its thoughts.

“I should not be seen!” its thoughts cried out.

The creature then trembled before me; not because it was afraid of me, but because it had broken an important rule. It was suppose to stealthily observe and never be seen, and now it had to answer to something I could not see. It had a superior.

In disbelief, I stared at the dark figure - and oddly, I did not feel threatened by it. Through its loud thoughts, I knew that it meant me know harm.

“What are you?” I thought, knowing that it could hear.

It did not answer.

Instead, it tremble faster, vibrating from left to right. It was trying to decide which directoin to flee; and it appeared to be unaccustomed to making sudden decisions on its own.

It then began communicating with what I could not see - and I realized that it and I were not alone.

“What shall I do!” its thoughts cried, not directed at me.

I sensed that it somehow had the ability to erase what had happened, but it was not authorized to do so. It was still caught up in its dilemma, whether to go left or right. It did not consider simply vanishing.

The entire encounter lasted approximately eight seconds before the creature decided to flee to its left, into a green shed that stood to my right. It didn’t run like a man. Instead it glided through the wall as though it was cutting through dimensions. I ran after it, to the far side of the shed to see if it would come out the other side. But it did not. I then looked back at the spot where I had first seen the dark figure, and wondered if it had been my imagination.

Nearly a year later, another event would remove all my doubts.