It was a night just like this, about three months ago, the first time I saw it. Light rain dropping silently from the pitch black sky. I was standing by North Avenue waiting for the train home. My chest began to tingle with fear, the hair rising on the back of my neck, knowing something was near. Slowly I turned my head to the right. It was both magnificent and disturbing, a young girl not more than six, standing 5 feet from me. Her energy is the only thing holding her image together. It is hard to tell how she died; the body looked so untouched, pure. She was looking to me for something.
My fear was gone the moment I looked in her eyes; it was replaced by a detailed map. I knew where she needed to go. I could see it; although I didn't know what it meant at the time. She looked down to the ground, pointing her glowing foot and circled it on the pavement, the way a shy child avoids interaction. As quickly as she appeared, she was gone.
The train pulled up before I could even get my bearings on what I saw. I stood there staring off into the darkness.
"Hey lady, are you getting on or not?" A man standing behind me said as he waited for me to board. Oblivious to what I had just seen.
"Oh, um… Yes. I'm sorry." I said as I walked onto the train. I took my normal seat by the door. Not talking to anyone, just staring out the window in front of me.
The ride home took twenty minutes that felt like one, daydreaming has a way of eating time. Walking to the door to get off the train as the conductor called out Brookhaven on the intercom, I was hoping Alex would be home so I could have someone to talk to about what I saw. Maybe this is normal, could be an optical illusion. Maybe I watch too many sci-fi movies…
I had no choice but to shake it off and walk the three blocks from the train station to my apartment. Dimly lit street lights lined the sidewalk. I kept looking over my shoulder, paranoid that someone was following me, however no one was there.
Upon approaching the townhouse I could see all the lights were on in my unit which brought on a surge of relief. I knew if anyone would understand it would be Alex. She has been my best friend since 6th grade and we have been inseparable since. Her long blonde hair and slim figure reminded everyone of a mermaid, which became her nickname all through school. Always wearing black leather spiked bracelets, she was trying desperately to not look so innocent.
When the door opened, I could hear Dimmu Borgir playing on the radio and Alex singing all the words.
I glanced through her half open bedroom door and didn't see her, only an array of magazines on the ground and her bed with white sheets, the only piece of furniture in the room. We have been living together in this house for three years and she never decided to decorate her space. I turned and she was walking toward me from the bathroom. "You're home late. What kept ya? Did you meet a guy?" She raised her eyebrow and winked at me with a playful smile on her face.
Now I see why she is my best friend. No matter how bad my day is she seems to cheer me up by pointing out my lack of a relationship. "No guy; I just saw something weird at the train station coming home."
"Well, let me get dressed and turn the music down and we can talk about it if you want." She gestured to a white towel wrapped around her and her dripping blonde hair.
"I could really use that right now." As she entered her room, I walked back to the living room, set my backpack on the table and sat down on the black leather couch to wait. The daydreams took over again. I felt as if the girl was still next to me, waiting for something, calling to me silently. Strangest of all, I felt like I must do something for her, but what could I possibly… I wonder who her parents were, or if they ever found out what happened to her. Was she murdered or sick. All these questions and all I really wanted was to make myself believe it was not even real, just so things could go back to normal…
Alex came out of her room in her short black cotton shorts and pink and black striped tank top. Even though we have central air the August heat has a way of seeping inside. Plopping down next to me on the sofa she lets out a sigh of relief feeling the cool leather on her skin. "Okay, what's up?"
I began to tell her about the girl. How she looked, as she was no more than a field of energy. Also the map, it was something I saw in my mind like a picture that took the place of the girl, like a tag on a piece of luggage only I couldn't make out the language. It was very windy on the train platform and yet her short brown hair did not even move...
I could tell Alex was very interested in my story but more for a tale than reality. I suppose it is something so far-fetched that it cannot be taken seriously. "Are you taking a creative writing class right now? I think it would make a great story!"