Sunset was approaching in the desolate, lifeless town. Seemingly the only thing this town had was a small playground. The floor was lined with pale sand which lightly travelled across the playground in the gentle breeze. This gentle breeze however wasn’t a nice one; it was a hot, sinister breeze. It almost seemed evil. It gave the playground a very uneasy feeling and made whoever may be there feel even more alone. I hadn’t been in this town very long so wasn’t familiar with this feeling. I didn’t like the town much as I never felt comfortable there, I never felt quite right.
Sat on the swing was a small girl. She was a very pretty, innocent looking girl; however, like the town she lived in, she appeared lifeless. It was as if she wasn’t quite in touch with her surroundings. She didn’t notice that I was sat a short distance away from her. I could have collapsed and died in front of her eyes and she wouldn’t have noticed.
The girl’s small, pale hands gripped tightly on the rusty chain of the swing as it swung in its pendulum motion. The hinges of the swing squeaked with every swing which added to that horrific uneasy feeling of depression and loneliness. She was humming a little tune as she played on the swing. She had such a sweet voice; however I could hear sadness, loneliness and depression within it. I wanted to talk to the girl but she seemed in deep train of thought.
Suddenly the girl stopped humming her tune as the swing started to swing lighter before shortly coming to a stop. A cloak of darkness suddenly veiled over the playground as the girl looked up.
Something that will haunt me until the day I die is the horrified look on that poor girls face as she looked up. At that point I seemed to wake up from a very deep sleep and my eyes were drawn to where the girl was looking. Stood there was the silhouette of a tall man who was staring at the girl. This man too seemed lifeless and his presence cast a shadow over the park. Somehow this mans presence made my heart thump harder than it ever has before. Something about that man scared me.
The girl looked worried, as if she knew the man. She was terrified. The man continued to stare at the girl as he slowly tilted his head slightly to the left. That sent an icy cold shiver down my spine. The way the man’s head moved didn’t seem human, it was almost robotic. The girl looked even more terrified.
Then the man started to slowly approach the girl and she let out a terrified scream without taking her eyes off him. I quickly stood up and started to run towards them as fast as I possibly could. Although I was only a few meters away they seemed to be miles away. The park seemed to stretch as they seemed further and further away, but I kept running, shouting as loudly as I could but they didn’t hear me. I was in tunnel vision; I had to help that poor girl. I was getting closer but they still didn’t see or hear me. I was nearly there. I screamed one last time. I went to run into the man and push him as hard as I could but as soon as I made contact the screaming stopped and the man was gone. I came to an instant stop and stumbled to my knees. I quickly stood back up at looked at the swing but the girl had too gone. I felt as if I had woken up from the most horrific nightmare. My eyes met the floor and I saw the footprints of the man’s boots in the hot, pale sand. My eyes followed the footprints towards the swing where they ended.
The thing that haunts me the most about my encounter is how the footprints ended at the swing. Where did the man go? It seems the answer to this question is a forgotten memory of which fragments still remain and forever will remain on that very swing.
