Real Encounters

*The Tall Man in the Park*

When I was 15, my mother went out shopping and left me in charge of the house. It was starting to get dark and I realized my little brother was nowhere to be found. I asked my sister if she knew where he was and she said he had gone to the park around the corner to kick his football around. I told her to watch the house while I was gone and ran off in the direction of the park. When I got there, I was surprised to find the park completely empty. I called out my brother’s name, but there was no answer. I started to get worried. All of a sudden, I heard a faint, muffled noise coming from my left. I turned just in time to see a tall figure disappearing behind a large fence. I sprinted as fast as I could and when I came around to the other side of the fence, I saw something that almost made me choke in horror. My little brother was being dragged down the alleyway by a tall man. I flew into a rage and tears of anger streamed down my face. I ran at him and he must have heard me coming, because he turned around to face me and dropped my younger brother. The tall man tried to grab me but I was running at him so fast that when I slammed into him, I knocked him off his feet. He swore and tried to get back up but I just started stomping on his face. Without stopping to ask questions, I picked my brother up and ran as fast as I could back to our house. By this time, it was pitch black outside and my mother was home. She was frantic with worry and when she saw the look on both of our faces, she realized that something bad had happened. As I explained, my brother and I started crying and my mum gave us both the biggest hug ever and cried with us.