Encounter

The true story of when I saw a ghost.

Sitting in my car after an exhausting shift, is the last place I ever thought I would see a ghost. Although, I'm not sure ghost is the correct terminology. 

It was dark, except for a few dingy, yellow-orange, street lamps placed throughout the gravel lot. They were spaced randomly without any real thought or planning, dully glowing sentinels. The building my friend's wrestling show was in was old; made of faded brick, decaying in it's worn lot, the grass from the field surrounding it slowly invading, popping up in patches that were suffocated by the occasional parked vehicle or shuffle of feet. The arena sat off a fairly busy 2-lane-one-way divided highway, so you wouldn't expect it to feel so isolated. This place gave me the creeps, so I parked across from one of the misplaced lights, the front of my car facing the building. A sign hung by a nail in a faded blue, and dirty white read, "PARKING FOR CLERGY". I texted my friend, he eventually came out and I turned my car off, we chatted, and I gave him the rest of the fried chicken I couldn't eat. We walked inside, I used the restroom as I had been holding my bladder for almost 8 hours now and really couldn't wait any longer. Standing in the doorway from the foyer to the open gymnasium, we talked about the people on stage. We said our goodbyes with a hug after he walked me to my car. 

The air was cool that summer night, but hung heavy with a creeping malevolence. It was the kind of place you could be minding your business, and in the recessed corners someone could be getting abducted. A sinister secret that no one would ever know. I sat in my car, mentally preparing myself for the monotonous drive home. I love driving, especially late at night when it seems you're the only person in the world alive, and the streets are empty; it's liberating! However, my body was just so tired. I decided it would be wise to get some shut-eye. I had gotten a small coffee at the gas station earlier so that would be working for me by the time I woke up from my 20 minute power nap. Now,after a day this long, it's no trouble at all for me to fall asleep.  However, there was a nagging; it just, wasn't right; I couldn't shake this feeling of paranoia. Someone or something was lurking in the darkness, just watching. Waiting for me to be off my guard. Ready, when I finally did, to devour me in the darkness and disappear. Forgotten without a trace. 

But, I tried anyway. I wriggled in the drivers seat. Locked my doors, and locked them again just to be sure. Pulled each side of my zippered sweat jacket close, flipped the hoodie up; like a swaddled newborn. As I sunk into the seat a bit, I reached with my left hand down to the power seat lever to lean back. I rested my eyes, but kept my ears open, listening for any noise that might confirm my suspicions. I had arranged my rear-view mirror so that I could just glance at it and see if anyone (or anything) was lurking behind my car, so that if they did make a noise I could catch them trying to notice me noticing them. I would be the one to catch them off-guard! I had pulled the mace gun out of my bag, held onto it tight. Finger outside of the trigger. I was prepared, maybe even a little over confident in my abilities to fight for my life if it came to that. I felt my vigilance would let me get some rest.

 It didn't. I couldn't. It was like something evil was trying to engulf me with it's oppressive darkness, the only thing keeping me safe were my watchful eyes. I felt my heart pounding, I dare not open the windows or doors to get some "fresh air" and snap myself back into sanity. I locked my doors. A third time.

I told myself I was being ridiculous, there was no such thing as the "boogie man." I took some deep breaths and turned the heat on, focusing on the sound of the car idling. The occasional click and turn of the engine, the way it softly vibrated the car was comforting. I slipped off into a quiet lull for about 10 minutes, resting my eyes and my mind for the drive home. I was thankful I didn't have to work the next day. 

Suddenly, I felt that malevolence I felt earlier. I checked my rear-view; nothing. I sat my seat up as slowly as the electric motor in the chair would go, turned the heat off. Peered out my drivers side window, staring at the void of darkness. The longer I stared, searching, the more I saw. Creatures, sliding in the darkness. They were blacker than the shadows they hid in. Maybe 4 or 5 of them total. Tendrils made of void, globules of a congealed amalgam. A mass of nothingness groped the shadow's edge. I would catch one moving out of the corner of my eye, directly watching it though, it would freeze. Without a watchful gaze, the others moved in. As close as they could without writhing into the golden glow of those old a*s street lamps. I thought for sure they would figure out a way to bust one of the lamps illuminating my car. Enveloping me in darkness. How could I fight something that I couldn't believe I was seeing?! My heart was racing, I thought, "Just get the f**k out of here, drive home now!!!" For some reason, I felt they would catch me in the darkness if I left the glowing lamps, they would follow me home and eventually consume me. 

Just then, there was a presence. I turned to look towards the rear of my car, as much as I could see out of my driver's side window and the ghost materialized. It's aura was there split seconds before I could see it. Maybe it somehow just alerted me to it's presence so I wouldn't be so frightened when it appeared. On some level we connected, (I would say made eye contact, but this did not have eyes), this spirit was calming and protective; It felt like we were locked in a room together, and learned everything there was to know about each other that would usually take lifetimes. But, all was understood in a split second that felt like forever. 

Have you ever been walking through the woods and stumbled upon a deer, startling her and yourself, but when you make eye contact, you realize neither one of you is a threat to the other? It was like that. A mutual respect. Somehow,we knew what the other was. This "ghost" was made of purity, it was an entity that gushed and seethed with power, but radiated softly with an almost blinding light. My racing heart jumped with excitement! The entity swept alongside the car with the elegance of a predator, it's flight thundered with energy, and shook the vicinity with vibration like a strong wind. As if the entity was shaking out a rug filled with dust, those void creatures dissipated. In the blink of an eye, the ghost vanished into another dimension, seamlessly continuing it's flight from our world to the next. 

I finally took a breath. A slow, deep breath of relief. I was at peace. Safe. In awe and wonderment at what I just saw. I tried to convince myself that my mind was just playing tricks on me, but it was too real. I cherished the moment as I put the car in reverse, backed out of my spot, and made my way home.