It was pitch black that night; all I saw were the fireflies glowing and fading into the night. I was sitting on my backyard porch listening to Death Cab for Cutie with my yellow Labrador named Cosmo when we both witnessed the blinding lights stream from the woods that line my lawn. On impulse, my dog dashed into the unknown. I screamed “Cosmo, come back!” In the matter of seconds his barking faded away and the atmosphere turned to eerie silence. 

I hesitantly stood on my dimly lit porch, the only light source. Conflicted whether I should chase after him of not, I sighed and cautiously crept towards the woods. I pulled out my phone for an alternative flashlight, which only helped me to make out the highlight of the trees and shrubs. I didn’t get far into the unknown when I felt a cold scratch down my back. I jumped and looked behind me and, of course, I didn’t see anything.  “It’s in my head, Jordan.” I repeated to drown out the silence. Walking through that forest made me ill, the energy gave me a nauseating feeling which worsened as I got deeper into the woods. “Cosmo,” I shouted, “Where did you go?”  I hoped he would hear my voice so we could get the hell out of the situation that people would only see in urban legends and creepy pastas. Out of the blue, I heard rustling of leaves and twigs coming towards me. Thinking it was my dog, I screamed, “Cosmo! Come here boy!” Not thinking, I ran to where the sounds were coming from.  As I was getting closer, the noise was also getting closer until it just stopped. I too stopped to try to make out my surroundings; the atmosphere was dead silent again. My nausea worsened and my heart dropped. Within meters away from my eyesight was not Cosmo, my fluffy companion I have had since a child. I was staring at something from out of this universe. My flashlight highlighted the creature’s demonic features and made it appear to glow. Back from reality, I started to panic, but I remained silent in hopes it doesn't notice me. Unfortunately, it looked straight at me, it had owl-like eyes as deep as oblivion.  We made eye contact and I suddenly felt a wave of disorientation; my head felt as if someone was inside my head scratching nails on a chalk board. I blacked out in the cold isolated forest.

                                                                             

                                                                                       ***

The next morning, I woke up in my bed. Confused I looked around my room, everything was still and peaceful. I inspected my arms and legs and found no trace of scrapes or scratches, possible clues from last night.  I was completely fine and appeared clean. Trying to convince myself, I said “It must have been a nightmare.”

I brushed it off and got up to do my daily rituals: make coffee and feed Cosmo, but there appeared to be no Cosmo in sight. A spell of paranoia flew over me when I realized that last night was not a dream.  I wanted to cry because I had no clue where my dog went. I called my fiancé at the time, Michael. I wanted him to comfort me and cheer me up, so I told him the whole story. He was silent for a long time then said, “Jordan, you don’t have a dog” In a concerning tone. After that night, I have never felt like myself, I felt like I was in a different reality than I was before. I don’t like speaking much about that night to people but writing about it has gotten the pain off my chest. Its something ill never forget about. I will never know what that bright light was, or that creature that altered my reality.