A Chance of a Ghost

It Was Enchanting to Meet You. I Promise to Call.

Alex

"Let's go camping. We haven't done that in years," Alex said to his cousin Jerry. "You'll be married soon, and this might be our last chance for a while.

"Alright," Jerry said, "I will call the guys."

Later at the campsite, Alex sat moodily watching the other guys pitch their tents with their girlfriends and Jerry with his fiance. 

Alex thought to himself, If I had known 'camping with the guys' meant 'camping with their girlfriends also,' I wouldn't have suggested it.

Thankfully, there were cell towers nearby, so his phone worked. He already had his tent set up, and he pulled up YouTube and looked at videos, but he quickly got bored with it. That was one of the reasons he was still single. He got bored quickly. Alex had never felt the butterflies in the stomach thing either. Maybe there was something wrong with him.

"Hey, Jer," Alex called out to his cousin. "I'm going for a walk, maybe take some photos."

"Alright, man, don't get lost." He laughed, and his fiance joined in with her high-pitched nasally giggle.

Lexi

"This is so much fun," Lexi's best friend Angie commented happily. "I can't believe it has been so long."

It doesn't feel as fun and carefree as it used to, Lexi thought. Or maybe I am the one who has changed. This place is just as serene and beautiful as ever.

"I'm going to go for a walk and see if I can get some cool shots for an article." Lexi was a travel writer.

"Are you ok, chickie?" Angie asked, sounding concerned.

"I'm fine," Lexi lied, waving a hand in an attempt at a carefree gesture. "I'll be back, an hour or so."

Lexi walked about a half-mile away and started recording a video of a deer that she saw a few meters away in the woods. It was a buck, his antlers standing proud above his head as he stood perfectly still for a few seconds, watching her warily.

The buck suddenly snorted and bounded away in the opposite direction. Lexi was disappointed as she saved the brief video. Maybe she would get enough to edit it into a video later. She looked around to see if there was anything else video-worthy and was startled to see a man's face. He was peeking around the tree, his body hidden behind it, just watching her.

"Oh gosh," Lexi said, putting her hand to her chest. "You startled me. Were you watching the deer also?"

The man just stared at her for a couple of seconds. Something about his intense, dark gaze made Lexi a little nervous. He shook his head in response to her question, indicating he hadn't been watching the deer.

"Right, well," Lexi turned and started back the way she had come toward her friends' campsite. "Enjoy your walk."

Lexi heard dry branches snapping, and she spun to face the man again. He had come around the tree and taken several steps closer to her. He was standing on the path now, just staring at her. 

"You're pretty. I like your hair. Can I touch it?"

"No." Lexi turned and walked away quickly. Pounding footsteps behind her made her speed up and throw a quick glance over her shoulder. He had sped up also.

"Ok, Lexi, don't panic," She thought. "You can handle this. I can't lead this asshat back to the camp; I need to lose him," Lexi thought as she darted into the woods as the guy recovered and came after her. She thought it would be easy to lose him, but he somehow managed to stay just a few steps behind her.