No more

It was one of those gray wet days where the rain did not so much fall from the sky as seep out of the fog and into your pores. Everything was damp and soggy when I began my daily walk around the square of park allotted to me.

I pulled up my hood and it blocked my view like blinders on a horse. I could look straight ahead, but not much more and that is probably why my hearing was so vigilant. They say when one sense is inhibited the others fill in. I could hear footsteps behind me. Someone running in rubber soled shoes at a constant pace and I moved to my right to allow them to pass.

No one materialized. Finally, I sort of swung my whole body a quarter round to the left to see what was going on, but no one was there. I had heard someone. I knew that, but obviously they were no longer behind me. I just kept walking, really not giving it too much more thought.

Then, three quarters of the way around the block I saw someone across the street. She, or maybe he, I couldn't tell because of a hood around the thin, African American face, saw me and ducked behind a tree. I couldn't see her anymore, but I had seen she was wearing a yellow and orange dress.  Cheap looking cotton, like a house dress from the past, it came down below her knees, covering long khaki colored slacks. The slacks were slim cut and ended at her ankles like two tan pipes. It was all covered by a three quarter black wool coat that hung from her shoulders as though from bare bones.

She peeked out at me, saw I was looking and ducked back behind the tree. I looked up and down the street. A red pick up truck drove by, but no one else appeared to be near. Not wanting to upset her I turned and kept on walking.

That was when I heard the footsteps again, running, and glanced back to see her dart across the street towards the park . Not wanting to be obvious, I didn't look around for a few more moments.

The running stopped and I searched the park with eyes looking for any movement, anyone peeking out from behind a tree, but there was nothing.

I finished walking around the block.

No more sounds. No more glimpses of that strange figure. No more indication that anyone was around except me.