[ WP ] Something has been watching you and following you your whole life . You are full at aware but never told anyone because they would think you were crazy . It has never tried to talk to you or harm you , but today you finally try to see what it wants .

I let the swing slow down to a stop as I look around the playground. The wind whistles through a rusty carousel. It rustles the weeds sprouting from a sandbox. The top of the slide glints in the last rays of sunlight, but everything else is cast in a murky red glow. I do n't see anyone. There's no one else here. 
 
 Except for that thing. 
 
 I do n't even have to look at it to know it's there. It always is. It always just stands there, off in the distance. Watching. Sometimes it frowns or looks sad, but most times, it just stands there with a faint smile on its lips. Watching. 
 
 I hate it. 
 
 No one else sees it, but I know it's there. I can see it. I've seen it every day for as long as I can remember. Literally. My earliest memory is of that thing standing across the street, watching me eat ice cream. 
 
 That fucking thing. 
 
 I ca n't even remember how my dad looks, but that fucking thing is nested into every single one of my memories. First day of school? It's there, outside the window. First kiss? Across the room. Graduation? In the crowd. Every happy moment of my life is tainted by that fucking thing. 
 
 The worst part is, it kind of looks like me. An older, fatter, twisted version of me. Pale, wrinkly skin. Dark, sunken eyes. When I was younger, I thought it was an angel. Later on, I thought it might be myself from the future. 
 
 Sometimes I wonder if it's my soul. 
 
 Well, the guessing stops now. Taking one last glance around the playground to make sure I'm - we're - alone, I plant my feet firmly on the ground and meet its gaze. I start walking toward it, never looking away. It does n't react, but does n't move away either. It just stands there. Watching. 
 
 My legs start to shake. I try not to think about it and force myself to keep walking. I'm close now - closer than I've ever been. My steps become more confident, my feet striking hard into the soft earth, driving up little dust clouds behind me. It does n't move. 
 
 I come to a sudden stop a few paces away from it, little motes of dust whirling around my feet. Even in the faint light, I can see it clearer than ever before. I see the contours of its face, the curve of its nose. The light in its eyes. 
 
 Something in me stirs. 
 
 A memory I did n't know I had appears in my mind. A laughing face. A warm smell. A deep voice singing an old song. A wave of emotion hits me in the chest, pushing out tears in the corners of my eyes. The thing seems to notice. It smiles at me, and for a moment, all the wrinkles fade away. The color returns to its face. 
 
 I smile back, and I know that it will never leave me. It will always be there. Watching.
