I had a lil emotional breakdown today and though i bounced back and made a put of delicious vegetarian chili i felt like doing something a vaguely dangerous. So when i went out on my evening walk i let it get dark and then instead of taking the wide and quiet well-lit streets home i took the bike path that goes through the little woods along the creek. I was wearing my prescription sunglasses and under the trees it was DARK dark and I wasn’t prepared for how scary it would be… I’m not really afraid of being assaulted or anything bc that’s really uncommon in this area but something about being outside in the dark dark under the trees awakes a primal human fear of like You Know. Monsters or whatever. And there where other people out there, walking the bicycle path alone at night, and I’ve been so used to spotting people at a distance and crossing the street and trying to keep 10+ feet of open air between us so I don’t have to put on my mask and suddenly so it was shocking to have someone emerge from the darkness, right in front of me, power walking in the opposite direction. After a few of these close encounters i started imagining shadowy figures emerging from all sides. As I stopped to adjust my spotify playlist to something more fortifying I was passed by someone who smelled like vape and had a little blue led light swinging from their hand. I was grateful to have a little light ahead of me, so after allowing a respectful distance, I followed and tried to keep pace. I slowed when they slowed and sped up when they sped up. They didn’t seem to look back at me at all, but when we passed through a part of the trail that was lit by the nearby street I called out, “Hi! Sorry, I feel creepy following you in the dark, but I promise I’m not a murderer!” Why did I say this?? Maybe in a moment of social panic I just hoped the promise would be reciprocated. But they just called back, “Ok!” They had dark skin and hair and a baggy dark jacket though it was a warm night. Even in the filtered orange light of the street lamp, all I could really tell was that they were about the same size as me. I followed the little blue light back into the darkness and for a while I focused just on the light and blocked out the rustling trees and moving shadows. I started to think about tales of will-o-the-wisps leading men off of safe trails at night and to their deaths in treacherous bogs or off the sides of cliffs, and wasn’t the bike path taking a little longer to walk than it should? The path looked unfamiliar in the dark. But then we both emerged off the path and into my well lit neighborhood, where our paths diverged. I waved goodbye to my guide, they did not wave back. Thank you, my sweet vaping friend, for guiding me through the dark. I hope you arrived home safely with a spooky story of your own, about a pale, skinny woman in sunglasses who followed you for ¾ of a mile down an unlit path.
