Walking in the park in the dark last night with a furry companion. The sky enormous, and clear, with all kinds of bright blinking lights up there: planets, satellites, stars and god knows what else.
The trees throwing shadows across the grass, the grass like a foreign land, the shadows like large snakes stretched out looking to swallow up the light.
A strange chill edges up my back. The furry companion is spooked. For a brief moment it's like we don't know each other. Something is not right.
Then, a moment of befuddlement: there is a person, hiding behind a tree. Really, can that be true? I see a person with their back against a tree out of the corner of my eye. This person is trying hard not to be seen, they have been watching the water, watching the lights blinking up there in the sky.
I pretend not to see. My companion too pretends. We walk on. There is a strange unreality that has kind of infected us. I decide not to look back, what if there really was no person? What would that mean?
I just don't want to know. We quicken our pace and head home to warmth and light.