[ WP ] It is dark and windy . You have been walking alone , and you see another person .

During my college summer vacations, I used to work the late shift at a fast food joint near my home. It wasn ’ t the most enjoyable job, but when you ’ re young and want some extra cash, it ’ s not a bad place to be employed. Sure, you get the occasional late-night weirdo and the intoxicated groups of young adults on the weekends, but dealing with these nuisances is not what led me to quit my job and never feel comfortable walking alone at night again. Nope. That honor belongs to her. 
 
 It was a slow night at the restaurant, but near closing, someone threw up in the restroom and flat-out missed the toilet. The smell was exceptionally bad, so none of us wanted to volunteer to clean it up. The odor was so vile that it could even be smelled through the restroom door. Our manager pitied us and offered whoever undertook the dreadful task the option to get off an hour early with pay. A coworker, who lived in my neighborhood and often walked home with me, declined. I volunteered, figuring it would be nice to get in bed a little earlier one night. That was my first mistake. 
 
 I finished shortly after midnight and went to the collect my things. I waved goodbye to my usual travel companion and headed out into the windy night. To avoid whatever rain the wind would bring, I walked quickly. It was a 20 minute walk home, and I could have driven to work, but I used to like that walk. As I headed away from the shops and towards my neighborhood, I saw a person standing in between the glows of two streetlights about 60 feet ahead on the opposite side of the street. Crime was low in such a small city, but I was always cautious when passing people on my way home. I had to cross the street soon, but I just kept walking. When I was exactly opposite of the figure, I saw it was a woman and felt a little relieved. She was facing away from me, staring into an empty lot that was for sale. She was bundled up in small white coat, and had long matted hair that was bouncing in the wind. I didn ’ t know if she was interested in purchasing the lot or if she was a junkie, but I didn ’ t care. She seemed harmless enough, so I walked on past her about 30 feet to avoid conversation and crossed the road to her side. The street to my neighborhood was coming up soon, and she didn ’ t seem like the type would rob me, so I didn ’ t see any reason to wait till I got to the intersection to cross. That was my second mistake. 
 
 Immediately after setting foot on to the sidewalk, I turned back to glance at her one last time, but when I turned my head she was already staring back at me. Her skin was so pale and she appeared to be chewing gum. Her arms were wrapped tightly in her coat, and I noticed she was shivering. Dammit. She was a junkie. I turned around and quickened my pace. By this time the howl of the wind and the rustle of the trees was all I could hear, so I glanced back again to make sure she wasn ’ t following me. Thank god she wasn ’ t, but she still just stood there staring in my direction. Finally, I made it to the entrance of my neighborhood, and as I turned down the street, I glanced back one last time to see that she was gone and relaxed my pace. That was my third mistake. 
 
 As I walked on, the wind carried on, and I tried to keep my mind focused on what snack I would have when I got home. I turned down another street and knew I ’ d be home soon. At that moment the wind died down, and I could make out a low cracking noise from behind me. My heart began to beat faster, and I quickly spun around. There she was, staggering towards me, clacking her teeth and thrashing her torso from side to side. It wasn ’ t a coat that she was wearing. It was a straitjacket! I was paralyzed by her deep black eyes staring directly into mine as she flailed her body about. She charged towards me until her face was only a few inches from mine, and then she froze. Her body stopped writhing and even her jaw was still. Her eyes still looking into mine, I remained motionless. I have no idea how long I stood there, but in that time I could almost sense a flicker beauty somewhere within her. Those eyes held me in place, but then it began again. Her teeth began to grind and her torso began to slowly rotate back and forth, all while she maintained her gaze. Those infernal cogs were being wound up again, and I didn ’ t want to have any part in what would follow. I bolted. I ran as hard as I could and didn ’ t look back until I was directly in front of my house. I had to make sure she didn ’ t follow me home, and she hadn ’ t. There was no one around me, so I sprinted up to the house and went inside, locking the door and setting the alarm behind me. I went upstairs to my room and sat by the window until the sun came up, but I never saw her. 
 
 The following week I constantly scanned the news, searching for a report on someone missing from the nearby mental hospital, but nothing ever showed up. Without any concrete evidence as to who or what she was, I couldn ’ t continue working nights and began searching for a day job. Even worse, It took months before I could stop suffering the darkness of her eyes when I closed mine to go to sleep. Now I rarely walk alone after the sun sets, and while I haven ’ t seen her since, I can sometimes still feel her behind me when the wind begins to pick up on a cloudy night. 

