Short Stories Under the Moonlight

I See....

                                                         September 20, 1986

Dear Journal,

      I don't usually write about my problems or my experiences, but today I feel like I just need to get some things off my chest. That is why I decided to buy this journal. I have a secret that is not easy to tell others. I guess many people have those types of secrets, but my secret would haunt someone to the bone. How do I go on with my life knowing the things I've seen. If I ever did tell people, I know for a fact that they would think I'm a psycho, which I'm not. I don't consider what I have a gift, but rather a curse. In a way, I can't tell if what I'm seeing is real or not.

How long have I had this sort of power? That is a great question to ask. I would say as young as four years old. I can still see the image back then vividly. It was when I was in school and I was just playing with some of my classmates during recess. I didn't think about it at the time, but all I did was glance over and it was there. How do I describe such a creature? It's hard to explain.

When I see them, they are tall, shadowy figures. They lurk not only in the shadows but can not be seen with the human eye. I guess I was born with different eyes. Over the years, I've learned that these things latch onto someone when it comes to feeling depressed or right before they die. I've experienced too many incidents where they cloud a person's body and I can see an outstretched smile as they know that I've been watching. I've encountered times where these figures will be right behind someone and the next minute a tragic accident occurs right in front of me.

The first time I saw death was at the age of ten. It was right after school and I had just got on my bus to go home. I saw one of them touching one of the teachers and not letting go at all. Seconds later, she collapsed on the floor with the shadow hovering over her with this smile I would never forget. There were no eyes on this thing, but this thing has the widest, sharp teeth.

I saw her ghost lift out of her actual body right in front of me. The shadow creature extended his hand out to her and she looked at it confused. Then, that's when she realized what was going on. She was no longer alive on this earth anymore and it pained me to see her walk away hand in hand with this shadow.

There was a letter in the mail three days after the incident and it explained what happened to the teacher. The hospital she went to said she died of a heart attack, but to me, it didn't look like a heart attack. I felt like she was taken without warning and that's how I saw it when these creatures did it to other people. The question of the day is, what am I?

In a way, I feel relieved now than I was before. I've realized that here, I can express what I see without telling people who might think I need to be put in an asylum. I hope to write more when I get the chance. Until next time, my friend.

Sincerely,

Ava