A Night Walk

The day was melting into night. The coolness in the air was becoming the cold dampness of the tomb. A rather morbid comparison I admit, but fitting none the less. For some reason I was scared. I had no reason to be. I don't know why. My husband was at the local rock wall climbing. That left me with my fish for company.

I looked out the window and everything was still. No breeze stirred up the branches. I found that odd because I was so restless. When I'm restless there is invariably a westerly wind blowing. Tonight there was nothing. I heard a neighbor's dog begin to bark.

Maybe a walk would do me good. I put on my Columbia and headed out the door. We own a couple of acres and are pretty much surrounded by forest. I checked my pocket for my flashlight. It was there along with a pencil and paper. I pulled it out and clicked it on. The beam sliced through the darkness. I was in a creepy mood.

A word of advice here. Don't walk into the woods at night hoping to be scared. You'll get more than you want. And maybe even a special something to take home with you. Kind of like a party favor for surviving. That said, on with my story!

I took my normal path from the house to the back of the property. My fear had turned into a need to be scared. My restlessness increased. I shone the light around as I got to the edge of the trees. They seemed to loom up and block my entrance. I smile to myself. Such an imagination! Onward I plunged. I looked around with my flashlight and found a deer trail. I decided to follow it. Pulling up my collar against the chill I shivered. The only sound I heard was my feet crunching on fallen leaves and pine needles.

As I went along the path I stubbed my toe on a rock. I bent down to first check my toe then the rock. It turns out that it was no mere rock but a small grave stone. I had a hard time making out the words so I pulled out my paper and pencil. The rubbing was a bit easier to read. Sally Owens. 1869-1879.

"Wow!" I said to no one. "I wonder if anyone remembers you're here Sally." The reply I got was a soft mrrr-roow. A black and white cat came out from behind a tree. I tried not to jump. The cat sat very matter of factly beside the headstone and curled it's tail around it's paws.

"So you remember Sally is here." The cat stared at me with almost luminous green eyes. And it didn't blink. I heard something behind me. I whirled around and shone my flashlight a little frantically around. Nothing was there. But I could hear footsteps. Two legged. Not four.

My first impulse was to call out "Who's there?" but instead I clicked off my light. With no light we'd be on even terms. I stood stock still and strained my ears. Nothing. Maybe it had been another cat. Everything in me was straining for the slightest noise or movement.

Without warning my throat was being squeezed shut. I flailed my flashlight at my attacker. I was doing nothing more than pushing around air. The pressure on my throat began to increase. I heard a soft hissing noise as something launched itself next to me. My attacker screamed in pain. Able to breathe again I turned on my flashlight and backed up to a tree.

In the beam of light stood the wavering figure of a man in nineteenth century dress. He dropped to his knees holding his hands to his bleeding face. Beneath him- where I had stood- was the body of a small girl. She looked to be around ten. She had bruises on her throat. I looked around for whatever had clawed his face. Beneath a nearby tree I found the body of the black and white cat. He must've grabbed the cat and thrown it against the tree. With tears in my eyes I bent down to stroke it. But it disappeared. I turn the light one the carnage behind me. There was nothing but the grave marker.

In a panic I tried to find my way home. When you do this you only get yourself lost. No matter where I went I could not find my path. Fear began to blind me to everything but panic.

I heard a soft meow. A live black and white cat blinked in the beam of my flashlight. It's green eyes watching me patiently. It got up and walked a few steps before looking back to make sure I was following.

The black and white cat not only led me home but has taken up residence with us. My husband was not too hard to win over with a story of a stray who followed me home. The fish doesn't seem to mind either. I named the cat Sally.