First Contact

The weather has been bothering me for quite some time now. It was pouring nonstop. I felt like in prison. I love rain, but this was too much even for me. The season has changed. Lovely autumn came to the village.

Finally, one rainless afternoon came. Praising the sky for the little change. But still, the whole day was covered behind thick clouds. Never mind, but... To the end of the day, few beams of the sun came through. This was my chance! Good time to catch some fresh air.

I took my bag, stuffed it full with much-needed things, and made one step outside. What else someone like me should do during autumn? I disappeared into nature of course, to clean my mind from any bad thoughts.

Everything was wet, heard every raindrop falling from the foliage down into the puddles on the ground. Made me feel peaceful. Rumaged through my backpack for something to sit on, so I don't get a wet butt.

I sat down on a little rock in middle of the road, deep inside the forest. Imagine a road in a narrow valley and both sides are covered in trees. The setting sun was illuminating my back. It felt so nice and warm like a hug, which I didn’t feel for long time, since I was living all by myself. Abandoned...

I took out my sketchbook, pencil and just started. In middle of my art work, I did put headphones on my head and switched on Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. The sound was set low enough, that I could hear what was going on around me. We have a lot of bears in this area and soon winter starts. I didn’t want to end up on the menu.

The song gently caressed my soul, I felt fresh... happy. No worries at all. Forgot about everyone and everything, even about the pain I came to get rid of here in the first place, which was a success. I let myself get carried far away.

Too late I realized, I was too careless. I didn’t notice it at first. That... sound... this... heavy breathing. Could it be? The dark Forest Spirit? One of those Beasts?

The silhouette with pointy ears stretched from not so far behind me, covered my whole body in its robustness, and ended up on the road in front of me. I felt how the warmth gradually faded away and my back became cold from its shadow. The smell of iron in the air lingered around me. It meant death.

Why now? Did my time finally come? My heart started to beat fast like I would run for a long time. Seconds turned into hours. Instant fear flooded my body. Blood drained down into my legs, to get ready for a run.
I slowly turned halfway. One look and I changed to stone.

It... It was one of those animals or demons. I don’t know their exact name... How to call them... Standing upright on two legs... A werewolf? I started to shiver at just his look, which pierced my soul deeply. Cold sweat ran down my back. Primal fear instantly took over. The strong dread made me unable to move. Finally, after holding my breath I took a deep one. My rib cage raised like never before.

I stood up and dropped my sketchbook and everything. His eyes fell down to the ground, where the papers were scattered. He looked interested. I slowly backed off. His eyes quickly focused back on me. I stopped. Didn't move a muscle.

He jumped over me and cut me off, from the only escape way I had. What now? Tears came to my eyes. I know I should not look into wild animal's eyes, especially, if he is a top predator, but... I could not help. Our eyes locked together. One of his eyes had the color of ice, the other green like the not-so-far pine forest.

Scared I broke down to my knees. My fingers dug into the leaves mixed with mud. It was too much for me. He dropped to his all fours. First, he sat and then laid down, with his back turned to me. I scrambled backwards, pressed myself against a huge rock, and curled up. I covered my head and face with my arms.

I was waiting, what would happen next. For him to attack me? Just kill me? Torture me? Devour me? Long time had passed. It was getting dark by the second. This silence was killing me. I was going mad. No animal in the forest made any sound, not even the bugs. This gapping silence... I could only hear my own heartbeat, breath, and even fear screaming inside my head.

Some more time has passed and I slowly raised my gaze to check, if this nightmare still lasted. He was still lying there in the same spot. Closed my eyes, so they adapt to the dusk. I took a deep breath and looked back at him. He seemed to be... gone? I lifted my head.

A great terror overtook me. He stood just a few inches from my face. His head was on the same level as mine. Standing on one of his front... paws? ...are those hands? He deeply stared into my eyes once again. His seemed to glow in the dark. I had deadly fright on my mind, but I could not help. „Its eyes... they are beautiful!“ I whispered very silently to myself.

He huffed, then turned one last time with his back to me and disappeared into the mists of the upcoming night. The terror fell off of me. He was gone. “Sigh.”

I looked for my stuff I had messed up. To my surprise, it wasn’t scattered anymore. It was inside my bag and the bag was placed next to me. But... but... WHO? HOW? WHEN? ... and Why?

That day I did not know how I walked home. I didn’t even know at what time I got home. My mind was blank from this close-up experience. I took a warm shower, but HE stuck in my head for the rest of the evening. Yes, I did notice it was a HE, when he turned and flashed a little those round hairy parts.

I dipped into the fresh sheets of my bed and covered my head. I felt still a little scared, even didn’t dare to open the window. Would I get sleep tonight? I asked myself. I was still pretty much agitated, but then, this wasn’t the first time I saw something like this.

Most of the time, they are avoiding people or being seen by them. I emerged from under my blanket. Blank staring at the ceiling. When was the first time I ever saw them? This took me a while to remember it, but finally...

I did.