Wednesday, March 25, 2009

The Face of Death

I left the guy's house just moments ago... and I feel fortunate to have made it home alive...

I noted how the night seemed darker than usual as I walked down the driveway toward the street. As I reached the foot of the driveway I heard a sound, like that of a stick being stepped on, off to my left. I glanced over and saw a shadowy figure, dressed in black. At first glance he looked like an old man out for a leisurely stroll. But who takes there evening walk this late? His frail, bony body was dressed in all black, and his hair was a silvery puff, not unlike an afro, that rest on top of his frail and bony face. There was something about him though... something that left an uneasy feeling in my gut. As I walked away from him, and toward my truck, I couldn't help but glance back. It seemed that his gait had increased and he was walking more briskly now. Why was he walking faster? Was there a "look in his eyes" now too? A look that expressed a certain determination foretold an agenda which I did not yet know? I took just a few steps before I peeked back at the shadowy figure once again. He had definitely increased speed and it felt like he was closing in... Wait! What was he closing in on? Shit! He's closing in on me!

I quickly glanced back once again as I pulled my keys out and attempted to locate the right one. A light caught his face for a moment and I was able to make out an image that drove sheer terror up my spine. The reason his face seemed frail and bony is because it was in fact a skull. A skull with a puff of silver hair growing from the top and bulging eyes that expressed a murderous determination. And his bony legs were moving even faster as he was now moving at the pace of a fast walk.

I unlocked my door, jumped in, slammed the door shut, slid the lock over and dropped my keys. "Oh shit!" I picked them up, put them in the ignition, turned the key, started the car, and sighed as I put the car in gear and sped away. I looked in my rear view mirror as I pulled away to find that he had almost made it to my door before I was able to get going.


The possibility of reality has now set in and I'm starting to consider that maybe I didn't really see a skeleton faced angel of death. Is it possible that it was just a neighbor? A neighbor who happen to have a frail, bony face and a frail, bony body? Maybe he wasn't walk walking as fast as I thought, or maybe he just enjoys power walking. And I'll even say its possible, that the scythe he was holding was just an oddly shaped walking stick. Or... maybe it wasn't. Either way, I'm glad I got out of there fast. Because I feel like there a real possibility, that had he reached me in time, I might not of made it out alive. I would say its about 50/50.

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