(no subject)
I have been debating writing this for a few weeks now. Maybe I was waiting for him to come back. He hasnt though, so for now I've worked up the courage to tell you about this. The last time he visited me was during the first week of summer, long after I started closing up my doors and windows as the sun went down. I guess I should tell you a bit of back story first.
I live in a suburb of Boston where nothing exciting happens. My town is small enough where crime really isnt too big of an issue, but big enough where we're still considered to have a "high population". I live in the in-laws apartment at my parents house, where it just so happens to be the house I grew up in. My parents built the in-law apartment for my grandmother about 25 years ago, but when she passed away, they started renting it out to people for some extra money. After college, I jumped at the chance to live there when my parents offered. I could save tons of money by paying a discounted rent, have my personal space and still get to eat all of my mothers delicious cooking when they offered leftovers. The apartment is small, but still comfortable. The front enterance (in the livingroom) and back enterance (in the kitchen) are almost directly across from each other, only about 30 ft apart. From the kitchen, there is a long hallway that branches off into a bathroom, a bedroom and another door that leads to my parents house. Every room has multiple windows that give me a view of my backyard and my neighbors backyards which are less than 50 ft from the apartment. Like I said, it's small but comfortable.
Admittedly, I am a bit of an alcoholic as I will drink everynight. Not always to the point of getting belegerently drunk, but at least once a day I will have a drink. To go along with my passive alcoholism, I am a chain smoker. I love smoking, and my enjoyment only increases the more I drink. Most nights that I'm not working late or out with friends I will be staying up late, drinking beer while watching TV, smoking cigarettes and surfing the internet. Usually around midnight, my buzz would be starting to really kick in and I would open my back door to have a smoke. Lazy as I am, I would never really go outside. I would just open my door and blow smoke outside while standing in the doorway. Every half hour or so I would take another trip to the backdoor for another cigarette. I may not lead the most compelling life, but my nightly routine made me happy. Well, that was until he showed up.
A few months ago, I was 3 beers into my nightly routine. I had started drinking later than ususal, so my first cigarette didnt come until around quarter to 1. I stood in the doorway thinking about my day and what I had to do tomorrow. After a few minutes, I snuffed out the butt and went back to watching TV. I enjoyed a few more beers over the next hour, and decided to hit the hay after another smoke. I looked around my backyard from my doorway, casually puffing smoke rings into the humid night air. I watched as an animal scurried through my garden and watched the breeze gentely push around the branches of trees in my neighbors yard when something caught my attention. In the yard on the other side of my neighbors house, I saw what looked like a very tall man. I couldnt make out any features at all, only the general shape of a person. The trees cast dark shadows into the yard that swayed back and forth, but this man shaped shadow remained still. I tried to focus on this shape for at least 30 seconds, but it never moved. I started to guess that I had a bit more to drink than normal, and my imagination was starting to run more freely than usual. Another 30 seconds of staring, I put out my cigarette and decided it was time to pass out. Right as I was about to turn away from the door, he moved. Slowly, the shadow raised a lankey arm to its face and took a drag from a cigarette. I stared at the small red ember that moved up to his face and then moved back down to his side. A little startled, I backed away from the door and threw it shut. I stared at the door for a minute after it was closed, realizing I was drunk. "It was my neighbor" I rationalized outloud. Without another thought, I turned and stumbled to my room. I got undressed, fell into my bed and slept without any interuption.
I didnt hit me until I was driving to work the next day what had happened the night before. The people that lived on the other side of my neighbor were very elderly. They were both in their early eighties, and neither of them smoked. Besides, they were borderline obese, stout people. The figure I saw the night before was well over 6' tall. In broad daylight while driving to work, none of this particularly scared me. It wasnt until that night that I thought about the shadow man again. Following my regular routine, I had a few beers and decided to have a smoke around midnight. I looked out over my neighbors yard and saw nothing as I smoked my cigarette. The same thing happend an hour later on my next smoke break, and finally once again at 2am before I went to bed. There were no shadows in the place where he had been the night before. There was hardly a breeze, and the shadows that cast themselves around the neiborhood lay realitivly still. Everything was back to normal.
I live in a suburb of Boston where nothing exciting happens. My town is small enough where crime really isnt too big of an issue, but big enough where we're still considered to have a "high population". I live in the in-laws apartment at my parents house, where it just so happens to be the house I grew up in. My parents built the in-law apartment for my grandmother about 25 years ago, but when she passed away, they started renting it out to people for some extra money. After college, I jumped at the chance to live there when my parents offered. I could save tons of money by paying a discounted rent, have my personal space and still get to eat all of my mothers delicious cooking when they offered leftovers. The apartment is small, but still comfortable. The front enterance (in the livingroom) and back enterance (in the kitchen) are almost directly across from each other, only about 30 ft apart. From the kitchen, there is a long hallway that branches off into a bathroom, a bedroom and another door that leads to my parents house. Every room has multiple windows that give me a view of my backyard and my neighbors backyards which are less than 50 ft from the apartment. Like I said, it's small but comfortable.
Admittedly, I am a bit of an alcoholic as I will drink everynight. Not always to the point of getting belegerently drunk, but at least once a day I will have a drink. To go along with my passive alcoholism, I am a chain smoker. I love smoking, and my enjoyment only increases the more I drink. Most nights that I'm not working late or out with friends I will be staying up late, drinking beer while watching TV, smoking cigarettes and surfing the internet. Usually around midnight, my buzz would be starting to really kick in and I would open my back door to have a smoke. Lazy as I am, I would never really go outside. I would just open my door and blow smoke outside while standing in the doorway. Every half hour or so I would take another trip to the backdoor for another cigarette. I may not lead the most compelling life, but my nightly routine made me happy. Well, that was until he showed up.
A few months ago, I was 3 beers into my nightly routine. I had started drinking later than ususal, so my first cigarette didnt come until around quarter to 1. I stood in the doorway thinking about my day and what I had to do tomorrow. After a few minutes, I snuffed out the butt and went back to watching TV. I enjoyed a few more beers over the next hour, and decided to hit the hay after another smoke. I looked around my backyard from my doorway, casually puffing smoke rings into the humid night air. I watched as an animal scurried through my garden and watched the breeze gentely push around the branches of trees in my neighbors yard when something caught my attention. In the yard on the other side of my neighbors house, I saw what looked like a very tall man. I couldnt make out any features at all, only the general shape of a person. The trees cast dark shadows into the yard that swayed back and forth, but this man shaped shadow remained still. I tried to focus on this shape for at least 30 seconds, but it never moved. I started to guess that I had a bit more to drink than normal, and my imagination was starting to run more freely than usual. Another 30 seconds of staring, I put out my cigarette and decided it was time to pass out. Right as I was about to turn away from the door, he moved. Slowly, the shadow raised a lankey arm to its face and took a drag from a cigarette. I stared at the small red ember that moved up to his face and then moved back down to his side. A little startled, I backed away from the door and threw it shut. I stared at the door for a minute after it was closed, realizing I was drunk. "It was my neighbor" I rationalized outloud. Without another thought, I turned and stumbled to my room. I got undressed, fell into my bed and slept without any interuption.
I didnt hit me until I was driving to work the next day what had happened the night before. The people that lived on the other side of my neighbor were very elderly. They were both in their early eighties, and neither of them smoked. Besides, they were borderline obese, stout people. The figure I saw the night before was well over 6' tall. In broad daylight while driving to work, none of this particularly scared me. It wasnt until that night that I thought about the shadow man again. Following my regular routine, I had a few beers and decided to have a smoke around midnight. I looked out over my neighbors yard and saw nothing as I smoked my cigarette. The same thing happend an hour later on my next smoke break, and finally once again at 2am before I went to bed. There were no shadows in the place where he had been the night before. There was hardly a breeze, and the shadows that cast themselves around the neiborhood lay realitivly still. Everything was back to normal.