It all started when my parents dropped me off the weekend after school ended. They had plans to travel the world for three months, so they were dumping me at my grandparents for the summer so they could live out their most vivid european dreams, without me there to bother them. I watched their silver Volvo pull further down the street. Dread filled my stomach as I picked up my duffel bag and backpack that had been precariously thrown from the backseat of the car. This was it. I had been driven ninety miles north, leaving northern Indiana for Southwest Michigan. The same midwest, yet different worlds entirely. 

My grandparents had a very large house at the end of a short street, encompassed by a wide and neverending field of grass, of which was lined by a thick forest, a smudge of black trees from my line of sight at their house. The day was eerily green as if it were about to rain. The sky looked acidic. I felt mildly uncomfortable, and hurried my walk to their front door. Figurines lined the walkway along with carefully pruned flowers and rose bushes. I finally reached the front door, where my grandfather greeted me with a bellowing laugh and a hug. He had always been my favorite.  He picked up my bags and carried them upstairs to where their guest room was, and I heard the floor creaking as he slowly made his way up the steps. 

“Have you been reading your bible, sweetheart?” I heard the rickety voice as nails filled my stomach. My grandmother stood across the room, near her walker and carefully decorated living room, filled with whimsical ceramic figurines and posters with bible verses. I squeezed my fists at my side, smiling and walking across the room to give her a hug. She pulled me in with an ungodly amount of strength for a small older lady, and I continued to smile as she pulled me into the love seat near their huge open windows in their sitting room. She said something about making some snacks for us to eat while we catch up, and slowly left to go to the kitchen, leaving her walker. I wondered why she had it if she wasn’t using it. Maybe it was only an occasional thing. I drummed my fingers along the windowsill, looking out the window and into the grasses flowing in the slight breeze. I made a mental note to go on a walk later and explore those woods. It might be the only exciting thing for me to do here in this small town. I saw a small shadowed figure in the middle of the field, just out of view for me to make proper sense of what the shape was. My blood froze. I stared at the figure hard, trying to see if it moved or if it was just a tree stump or bush in the otherwise unblemished land. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I was anxious about staying here. It may have been a wolf or deer, and I realized I should probably ask if they have anything that could kill me living in those woods before I go poking around in them. 

Just then I heard the shuffling of feet as my grandma made her way back into the room with a plate of small, neatly cut sandwiches and a pitcher of lemonade. I stood to help her bring in the cups despite her protests, and a few moments later we settled in to talk. By now my grandfather had made his way back down the stairs, making comments of how thin I was and how I better finish that plate of sandwiches before dinner. I laughed at his words while internally cringing. I better get used to the body comments now, this was only day one. 

I let them fall into idle chatter after sharing every last detail of myself, my mother and father and what their plans were going to be. They talked of their own trips to Europe, to Haiti, and I felt my eyes drift as I looked back out the window, wondering why the sky was so dark when it was hardly later than noon. The sky wasn’t cloudy; it was covered in a gray haze of space, as if someone had exhaled a thousand cigarettes into the atmosphere and sky above. My eyes finally trailed back to the figure I had seen earlier. There were no buildings, no cars or pathways or houses in sight on this side of their house. My heart stopped beating entirely. The tall black figure I had seen earlier was gone. My eyes scanned the field for sight of something, anything to clue me in as to what the creature was or where it had gone. I swallowed a mouthful of lemonade and turned back to face my grandparents.

 After a while, my grandma directed me to their TV and instructed me to watch whatever I wanted while they got ready for a friends dinner party they had planned. They both apologized profusely, saying that they hadn’t planned on my arriving so soon and that they had been under the impression that they had more time to prepare for my stay. I told them it wasn’t a problem at all. I had no trouble keeping myself busy. I brought my Nintendo DS and all of the games I had for it,which pretty much included all of the games available. My parents got me anything for me to leave them alone. 

A few hours passed and I grew bored. I decided to explore their house, while avoiding either of them getting ready, which included most of the main hall in their rooms. The kitchen and rest of the house was mine for the taking. I wandered through the kitchen, opening the refrigerator and grabbing an apple from the bowl they had filled them upon stacks of tins and tupperware bowls filled with foods. I bit into the dense flesh as a tang and sour juice exploded in my mouth. I savored it, chewing hard and swallowing before going in for my next bite. 

I wandered down the hallways, caring to not make too much noise. I walked upstairs to my guest room, wanting to arrange the space I would be inhabiting. A freshly made bed with pink linen sheets and a pink comforter filled most of the room with its queen sized space. It was complete with a small side table, a closet, and a large window that faced the field. There were also several cohesive shelves and a vanity on the other side of the room opposite the bed. I walked to one of the dressers where my grandfather had propped my bags. As I was putting away my clothes, a note fluttered to the ground after I unfolded a pair of jeans. I bent down and picked it up, examining the paper. It looked old and frail, as if it might blow away into the wind if I held it up to the light. I flipped it over. 

“WELCOME 🙂” was written in a hurried scrawl across the page. I wondered if my grandfather had done this as a silly joke or a way to welcome me, and I tucked it into the edge of the mirror. I knew he meant to be sweet, but it honestly creeped me out. After I finished, I walked across the room and flopped onto my bed. I pulled out my Nintendo and sighed deeply. It had died after the trip today, and I had forgotten to plug it in. I pulled out the charger and plugged it in the closest location to my bed, below the window. I looked outside again, green grass swaying in the breeze and atomic skies. My gaze strayed to the right, opposite of where I had seen the figure previously. Suddenly, I saw an even taller, human-like entity standing a few meters off from the woods that lined the field. I stopped breathing, stopped thinking as I swear to god, I saw the thing lift its arm in the distance and wave at me, slowly, like beauty queens did at pageants and parades. I didn’t blink as it spun around, slowly at first and then quicker, like a ballerina, then quicker, like an unnatural hurricane, then it stopped as quickly as it started. I squinted, desperate to understand what the hell was happening. I saw a face look directly at me, suddenly, and then it crouched, so low in the grass it quickly became invisible. I blinked, wondering what could be wrong with me. Had I accidentally ingested hallucinogens since I had gotten here? I watched the grass again, ever swaying against the dim light provided by a few stray rays of the sun. 

I froze in terror as the same shrouded figure slowly lifted itself from the grass, now less than a mile from the house. I could make out what it was now, a tall man with what appeared to be a canvas mask covering his face, wearing all black clothes covered in mud and bramble. His eerie grin took up all of his lower face, and he unwaveringly smiled at me watching him from the window as he grew taller and taller, surely well beyond seven feet in height by the time he stopped. I was glued to the spot, horrified to continue witnessing this yet unable to look away. It was as if it knew. I could hardly breathe as it crouched down again, catlike, robotic motions, and kissed its hand before extending its arm to me yet again, waving its hand high in the air. I didn’t wave back. He withdrew and disappeared completely, lowering himself into the grasses, keeping eye contact all the while maintaining a haunting grin. 

I watched out the window for the next hour, hardly breathing as I waited for that thing to pop up again and wave at me, making some form of contact. The door creaked open behind me, and I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound, shouting as I dove for the space below my bed.
“June? Are you okay darling?” Oh God. It was my grandpa Gene. I hurriedly rushed from the side of the bed and stood as he entered my room. 

“Your grandmother and I just wanted to let you know that we’re leaving now. We left both of our numbers and the number to the neighbors on the fridge for you in case you need anything. I know you’re fifteen and can handle yourself, but reach out if you need anything at all sweetheart. We should be home by nine at the latest.” He pulled me into a bear hug and I grimaced at the sudden contact before reluctantly hugging him back. He pulled away, smiling and waving as he left the room and shut my door. I couldn’t tell him about the figure I had seen, I couldn’t bother them with it. My parents already thought I was insane, I didn’t need to give my grandparents a reason to think I was as well. I took a deep breath, thinking that I just needed to sneak out into their fenced in backyard where no one but us could enter, smoke a joint that I had smuggled in my bag, and relax a little bit. I watched the driveway as my grandpa helped my grandma out to their station wagon, opening her door and helping her into the car before walking around the side and getting into the drivers side. Right before he got in and closed the door, he looked up and winked at me. I smiled at him, startled that he knew I had been watching, and gazed at them until their car was blocked by the view of a tree as it made its way down the street. 

I stared out the window a few minutes longer after I had fumbled to pull out the goods and my lighter, ensuring that thing wasn’t out there. I saw nothing, other than a stray leaf or branch swaying out of order. I sighed, chalking the sight up to temporary insanity from the anxiety I was experiencing from being told last minute that I was going to have to stay here. I took a deep breath, clutched my cylinder tube of joints and lighter and made my way to the back yard. I quietly closed the back door behind myself, just in case I hadn’t been hallucinating earlier. I ignited and inhaled, breathing out as I walked over to the cement bench in front of their garden. I sat and admired the beautiful work, flowers of all kinds blooming and overflowing from the rich black soil. I lifted my fingers to my mouth once more, taking in a long drag. I ran my eyes along the tall, brown wooden fence that lined their backyard, blocking their house off from the alley that lay beyond it. I examined their backyard as I smoked, the small newly painted red shed that lay off to the left of the yard. There were other beds of other flowers and strawberries, raspberries and anything they were able to grow was finding a way to sprout back here. I smiled to myself, looking at all of the hard work. 

I felt a chill run through my spine as I sat back there enjoying the day as it faded into evening, and I realized it would be getting dark soon. I looked up again at the top of the fence hoping to catch sight of the moon, and what I saw made me drop the joint I was smoking in complete terror. The same manlike figure I had seen before was standing behind the fence, peering over it enough so that I saw its pitch black eyes and gargantuan, wide, inhuman grin staring down at me. I couldn’t breathe as we stood there, I did not blink or move as it stood there, eyes open into endless black abysses and blood curdling smile. I had the courage to draw a breath, I blinked once, and stumbled back several feet in terror. 

The figure was three feet closer than it had been, moments before. I walked backwards blindly, trying not to crush the fragile flowers or knock over the clay figurines while staring down the demonic figure watching me. I opened the door from behind, not ending my gaze until I had the door locked and bolted behind myself. My heart was beating rapidly. I sank to the floor and struggled to calm myself down as I lost it. My hands shook as I went to pull out my cellphone to call someone, anyone for help. I lifted it and tapped the home screen to get it to turn on, and it blinked back at me with a “low battery!” message, before promptly turning off. My eyes brimmed with tears of frustration as I slowly rose from my position, making a point to NOT look out the window in the door or the wide window in the kitchen. I saw enough to be relieved that my grandparents had shut and locked all of the windows before they left, thank god. I made my way to my room, holding my breath to hear anything out of the ordinary. There was nothing, besides the general creaks and groans of the old wooden frame of the house. I made it to the room safely, locking the door behind myself. I crashed across the room, taking my backpack and yanking out the contents until I found my phone charger. I plugged it in below my DS, scrambling to plug the other end to my phone. After moments that felt like eternity, a red line popped up across the black screen, indicating that it needed a charge before it could turn back on. No shit. I sat there, clutching the phone tightly before daring to turn and face my window to ensure that the lock was clicked into place. A sigh of relief. It was.