Humans probably rank number one in the list of stubborn and rebellious creatures, and are quite well known for not doing what they are told. It’s in our nature to take the opposite route of the one we are told, and often times what we want isn’t quite the right way to go. Of course, we get ourselves into very sticky situations as a result. And if any one human was to be ranked as the most stubborn and rebellious of them all, it would probably be me. I have the scars and the stories to prove it.

One of these stories, and one particular scar, sticks out in my mind so much I still have nightmares of parts of it. It was the springtime, back in my earlier years when I still had my energy. My family went on trips often to escape the distractions of the city and get some personal time together. Maybe your family has done something similar in the past. And in fact our plan worked, and what I would describe as some of our best memories occurred on these trips.

On this trip in particular we had driven quite a ways into the mountains. According to Father, our camp was fifty miles outside of the nearest city to the south, and one hundred miles outside the city to the north. The spot of perfection for one of our family trips, the area was densely filled with tall mountains piercing into the sky; and more trees than even the world’s most skilled carpenter would know what to do with. Thick vegetation of grasses and bushes filled in almost every gap in the trees. What you could call the closest thing to heaven on earth was so glamorous that even a postcard couldn’t tell the beauty of the area.

The only thing about our family trips that I didn’t care for was the abundance of free time. We didn’t actually do very much on these trips; mainly we just sat around camp reading books and playing board games. But that didn’t appeal to my adventurous, explorative personality. My inner nerves were just itching to get out and find what was around me. So while the family sat around camp doing the boring things, I was usually found deep in the woods seeing all there was to see. And that is where our story begins to unfold.

I was out on one of my cross-country treks one day during the trip, I think it was Tuesday, but that’s not so important. I had more energy in me than usual that day because I had slept exceptionally well the night before, and I didn’t know quite what to do with it myself. I remember I left camp heading to the north sometime that morning with my compass in one hand, walking stick in the other, and sandwich in my pocket. The weather could not have been better; the temperature was just right and only a few clouds here and there. I just knew that this adventure would be like no other, and if I had known just how right I was about that, I would have probably turned around and gone back.

The area surrounding camp was filled with thick bushes and trees, not thorn bushes or anything, just the nice looking green ones. I jumped, twisted, and ducked my way northward as fast as my legs would take me. The smell of pine and fresh air surrounded me wherever I went. A few times I stopped along the way to observe a wild deer or other animal from various hiding places. I felt free, I felt independent, and it was wonderful.

After stopping for lunch and a short nap I got back on my way. By the time I woke up, the sun was already beginning to make its way down the western half of the sky. I figured this would be a good time to begin heading back, as Mother would get quite worried if I was still out past dark. So, figuring I had probably made it three or so miles from camp, I turned back and headed off.

After walking for what seemed like hours I came across a tall cliff overlooking a large valley. By this time the sky was displaying a beautiful sunset of orange, yellow and red. I loved the sunset, I loved the valley, I loved the whole area as a matter of fact. But there was one problem; I hadn’t seen a cliff or a valley all day. Something wasn’t quite right. I pulled out my compass and sure enough, I had gotten turned around somewhere and was heading west when I needed to go south. The valley I faced ran north to south with a river at the bottom. Given how far west I had probably gone, I figured that I needed to head south-east and that should at least get me back to somewhere familure.

About the time I had that figured out I heard a noise in the bushes behind me. I figured it was probably a squirrel or something small like that, so I just stood still enjoying the overlook in front of me. Over time, however, the noise got a little louder, like the animal was getting closer to me. But that was fine, I was enjoying quite the view, and my mind was not at all concerned with what was happening around me. That is, until I looked to my right and saw the bear cub.

My heart must have stopped for a few seconds at that point. It took all that was in me to keep from shaking in fear. My eyes just stayed locked on the cub, so innocent looking, but indicative of so much danger that was probably lurking behind me. My mind raced from one possibility to the other as my heart rate began to rise rapidly. But I couldn’t panic; the only way I was going to make it out of this one was if I kept my cool. Anything else could startle the beast into a charging mass of teeth and claws. I had faced off before many a beast in the past, but nothing with the size, strength or aggression of a full grown bear.

Whereas mama bear was probably just keeping a close eye on me while I enjoyed nature, she apparently didn’t like me catching a glance at her cub. You could tell that mama had eaten the extra-caffeinated porridge this morning, and she was ready to go. Never before had I seen any creature go from calm and collective to fully enraged in such a short time as now. Because when my eyes locked onto little junior over there, mama let out her roar of warning and made her presence known. I turned around, and noticed her standing there just feet from me, teeth showing in all their glory. And she knew she didn’t have to make half an effort, because she knew she already had me cornered.

We stood there in a staring contest for quite some time. I had no way out. There was a bear in front of me and a valley behind me. Fear doesn’t describe very well what I felt at this moment. On the outside I probably looked as calm as could be, but on the inside my adrenaline was in full force. When that bear took one step forward, and I took one step backward, all hell broke loose. And when I say hell, I mean the rock I was standing on.

I fell backwards uncontrollably and entered into a free fall. I yelled, I screamed, I even prayed. I remember falling backwards first, then flipping over and heading down face-first. The air hit my face like I was driving a car without a windshield, and it was difficult to know what was happening. Fighting against the urges of my body, I managed to open my eyes to see the treetops racing towards me, which probably saved my life. Everything went silent; I was so focused on surviving this that I forgot how to listen for a moment.

As I entered into the treetops, getting poked and scraped by the twigs at the top, I fell into a bunch of vines. My time in the woods had taught me to think quickly for survival, and I grabbed on and held for dear life. My only hope was the vines, if I could hold tight enough they could slow my descent and make my fall less severe. The ground approached me faster and faster and I could feel the tears streaming down my face as a sign of my terror. I took in one last breath, felt a hard blow, and everything went black.
When I finally came to it was dark. I could hear the crickets chirping all around me before I even opened my eyes to the starry sky. I didn’t know if I could move or not, I was hurting too bad to bother trying. My head was splitting so bad I thought for a moment that it had hit a rock. I closed my eyes again, redirecting all my thoughts to trying to ignore the pain I was feeling everywhere. I rolled my head around and looked left, realizing I could at least move that. It was about that time that a voice broke the silence.

“I was expecting you to show up about now!” I heard a male’s voice say from nearby.

Wait a minute here…this stranger has been waiting for me?!? Ok, now I definitely have gone insane. I most certainly have hit that rock. This has got to be some sort of dream. Or maybe I’m dead…in a different world. But that wouldn’t make sense, why would the afterlife world be so similar to the real one? And why would I still be in pain? I rolled my head again and looked to the right. Sure enough, there sat a man in a white button-up shirt and blue jeans. He had eyes shining like the sun, and a brown beard about six inches long. But the sight of him was comforting.

“I wouldn’t try to move if I were you, that was one nasty fall you had” he said. And I didn’t even think about arguing with him. I just laid there.

“Here, I’ve got something that should help you feel better”. He reached down and grabbed a glass off the ground next to him, filled with a clear liquid. He looked at it for a moment and with a smile, walked over and handed it to me.

“Drink it,” he said, “It will take away the pain”.

I hesitated for a moment as my paranoia kicked in. Here was some random man, dressed quite inappropriately to be out this deep in the woods, handing me a clean glass and telling me to drink it. If I’m not dead already, he could be finishing me off with some poison of some sort. Nevertheless, I was in pain, and anything was worth a shot at recovery.

I reached up and took the glass from him as I realized I was capable of moving my arms. He placed his arms under my back and helped me sit up. I realized that sitting up on my own would have made my body scream in pain, but this man did it painlessly. Sitting upright, I drank the liquid, which tasted no different than plain water, probably from the river nearby.

Wow, this is one strange dude.

“That may take a few minutes to kick in but you’ll feel fine soon” he said.

I looked at him kind of strangely, I’m sure he knew I was quite a confused kid.

“A bit chilly out tonight, how about we start a fire eh?” he said, and placing a blanket over my shoulders, he got up and walked over a few feet before kneeling down again on the dirt. He grabbed some sticks he had waiting nearby and began stacking them log cabin style, and then surrounded them with some rocks. Which made me wonder why he left all that sitting there while he waited for me to wake up, he could have done this hours ago but chose to wait for me.

Once he got the fire started he sat down on the other side of it and broke the silence again.

“Don’t be afraid” he said calmly. “I know you’re a little nervous around strangers, but your only hope of getting out of here is with my help. That is, if you are sure to stay with me at all times”.

Though to be totally honest with you I really wasn’t that afraid. Yes he was a little strange and all, but I was kind of comforted by his presence. It felt good not to be alone, if anything I was scared of my situation, not of him. I clung on to a hope that this man would know the way to get me home as quickly as possible. In fact that was my only hope, climbing the cliff was impossible, and who knows how long it would take me to go the long way around on my own.

“You really need to get some sleep,” he said, “We have to be up pretty early tomorrow. Moving at night is dangerous in these woods, and you need your energy anyways.”

But before I slipped into sleep I asked him the one nagging question on my mind.

“Sir, if you don’t mind my asking, who exactly are you?”

He smiled. “I’m whoever you decide I am. Now, get some sleep.”

And without another word, I closed my eyes and fell fast asleep. And I slept like a baby too. The man was right, I was outright exhausted. I don’t remember having any dreams but I probably did. Then after a while I was awaken by a pat on the shoulder.

Pat…pat…pat. My eyes popped open. It was still dark out, and for a second I questioned if I had actually fallen asleep. But I determined that I had been when I looked at the fire that was now reduced to simmering cinders. Besides, I felt pretty rested and ready to go, and to my surprise I felt no pain at all. That weird water had really done the trick.

“Ready to go?” the man said. He was kneeling next to me.

“I thought you said moving around here at night was dangerous?” I asked, knowing it was still dark out.

“The sun will be coming up pretty soon,” he said, “The spirits that run free at night have retracted by now, we should be safe to start moving”

“Spirits?” I asked. “Don’t tell me this place is haunted.”

“No, I wouldn’t use the word haunted. More like shared. There exists here a balance of good and evil spirits that roam the area, and the evil ones recharge during the day, giving us safety to move.” he said.

“But don’t the two sides ever come into conflict with one another?” I asked

He nodded, “Yes, in fact there is constant war raged between the two. That’s where the danger for humans comes in, because if we move through their active battlegrounds we could get caught in the middle, or mistaken as the enemy. That’s why we move at day.”

You know those times when things start to go so crazy that you just give up and let them come as they please until it all goes away? This was one of those times. Strange man, spirits, healing, none of it made sense. Might as well just go along with it, but I’ll keep a second eye on getting back home, just in case he was a madman. After all, out here on your own with minimal to no supplies, it’s survival of the fittest.

With an extended arm he helped me up to my feet, brushed the dirt and leaves off my back, and then handed me a new walking stick. I guess I lost mine somewhere between the bear and the ground. It was hard to see in the dark, but first light had begun to peek over the mountains by now so most of what I saw was a mix between a shadow and an object. It was just enough to make out the bigger objects so walking was at least somewhat possible.

We got moving, heading south through the valley and eventually came across the river in the middle of the valley. We followed the river southbound which was downriver, as it twisted its way between trees and rocks. The area was absolutely breathtaking, the trees a stunning color green that shaded us from the scorching sun. Soon the sun was high in the sky and although we were shaded, it was quite hot out and I was coated in an icing of sweat.

Not long after this we came across a beautiful waterfall over a drop in the rocks. The water fell into an abundance of white splashes that ran quickly downriver over rocks and whitewater rapids. The sound of the water flowing over the rocks sounded amazing. On the far side of the river was a small clearing where the sun could shine down through the trees, in fact if one was going to have a family picnic I might recommend the spot. That is, if I knew how to get to it. All I knew at this point was I was in the valley. The man stopped right by the river where it begins to flow back downstream again and the rapids begin.

“How’s about we cool off a bit?” he asked as he removed his shoes.

Now I liked that idea. While I was there I could even get something to drink. The man was already in the water by this point and I could feel the longing for the water burning deep within me. Never before had I wished so badly to be submerged in the cool waters. Without further delay, I removed my shoes and shirt and made a dash for the river’s edge.

I flew through the air, formed a cannon ball, and splashed down plunging deep into the water. It was deeper than I expected out in the middle and I just barely touched the bottom. I stayed there for a moment as the cool waters engulfed me in a refreshing awe. It was all I could have asked for, it was amazing. When my lungs screamed for air, I pushed my toes to the bottom and rocketed towards the surface, shaking the water off my head and sucking in a lungful of air.

When I caught my breath and blew the water off my face, I found the man standing there laughing a bit at my triumphant entry and return. With one hand he splashed a bit of water at my face. I retaliated with full force, sending a whole wave of water racing towards him. Then we both laughed, and I slipped back under the water and positioned myself under the waterfall.

When I came back up and took a look around he was gone. My mind went into panic mode for a moment. I only hoped he hadn’t walked off on me. I made a frantic search around the area. Nothing, I seemed to be alone. I even started to cry a little, which I didn’t usually do. I have to admit it was a pretty scary moment. I looked up, down and around and saw nothing.

Then over the sound of the crashing water I heard a faint yell. I looked up and there was the man, flying off the top of the waterfall, arms and legs waving. My tears turned to a smile and a laugh as he fell through the air and splashed down about five feet in front of me. The force of the splash pushed me back underwater, I’m sure from the side it was quite a sight to see.

Of course I had to have my turn at the high jump and swam to the water’s edge. Looking up I noticed a hill of smaller rocks leading to the top. The rocks were cool and felt good under my feet as I climbed up to the top of the waterfall. I turned and looked down at my fall. One problem existed, and that was that I had an extreme fear of high jumps. I noticed the man was looking up at me with an encouraging look, and I knew if something went wrong he would be right there. But I just couldn’t work up the nerve to do it, my legs were locked in place.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” He yelled up at me.

I stood there, didn’t move a muscle, didn’t say a word.

“Come on man!” he yelled again, this time with arms reaching up towards me. “I won’t let you get hurt, promise”.

Come on dude, man up. I thought to myself. Don’t let this guy think you’re a baby, just face your fears.

I looked down again and gulped. The man still stood there with his arms stretched high. I was nervous, yes. But I trusted him, and found myself comforted in that. So I took a few steps back, leaned forward a bit, took in a deep breath, and ran. I probably fell a good twenty feet before splashing down again. I twisted and turned under the water before resurfacing again right next to him. I was cooled off, refreshed and happy. All was well.

We fooled around like that for hours. I began to feel as if this man had been a friend of mine for years, even though I didn’t know his name. When the sun began to go down we got out and laid down on the side of the river we had been walking on before. I had enjoyed my day, but I was ready for it to be over so we could continue on home. I was certain my parents must be in a panic by this point.

After we had laid around for a while the man got up and started a fire. I rolled over so I could watch him. I didn’t really feel that tired though, I felt energized and ready to go on. Looking across the river I noticed the clearing from before. Here we were in the middle of the bushes with little moving room when just across the water was a large area with soft grass that looked much more comfortable.

“Why don’t we set up our camp over there?” I asked, pointing towards the clearing.

The man sighed. “It does look much better. But it’s not, that side of the river is too dangerous. It’s not worth risking your life over it. That which is powerful here is more powerful there, for the river serves as a barrier separating the valley.”


Well, alright then, if you say so mister.
We ate some fish from the river cooked over the fire, and talked for a while about life and such. It was good quality time, and it made my heart hurt a little because I missed being able to do that with my own father back at camp. For the first time since yesterday, I regretted ever walking away from camp. But I was also kind of glad I did, I had made a new friend.

After a while we laid down to sleep several feet apart from each other. But my curiosity just would not leave me alone. I was itching to know what was on the other side of the river. By this time it was dark out, and a cloud covering blocked out the light of the moon and stars. A cool breeze was flowing through the area that kept things cool, and at times I almost started shivering a little. My thoughts battled for a while. I knew he had said to stay with him, but…I wanted to see the other side…and if I kept moving I might keep a little warmer. Around here in the springtime, the days were hot and the nights were cold.

I sat up, still battling my thoughts. It could be dangerous, but hey, I survived a several hundred foot fall right? It couldn’t be too bad. And if I’m back by morning, he’ll never know I’ve been gone. So I got up, grabbed my stick, and walked slowly and quietly towards the river. Over the noise of the water I could move full speed once I got across the river without anyone hearing a thing from the other side.

Given the cold temperatures I thought it best to avoid actually getting wet and instead utilized a makeshift bridge of stones sticking out of the water to cross. I had to stop on each rock, squat down and feel in front of me for the next rock because it was so dark. Slowly but surely I eventually made my way across the river and set foot on the other side. Looking around, I observed my surroundings. There wasn’t much to see in this light, although the clouds did thin out a bit and allowed some moonlight through. In front of me, hidden just out of view from the river, was a thin footpath that snaked through the trees. To my left were rocks leading to the top of the waterfall, and to my right was nothing but brush. The best option, in my mind, was obviously to take the path.

I felt kind of wrong in what I was doing, like I was betraying the trust of my newly found friend. But my desire overpowered my heart in this case so I kept going. I had to wade through some thick brush to reach the path, but I made it through alright. Observing the path it seemed to widen out up ahead a bit, and it was all smooth dirt. No rocks or roots to get in my way. Easy stuff, I thought, this would be a breeze and I’d head back when the moon approached the horizon.

So I started out on the path, and probably spent a good two hours on it before anything really happened. I tend to be a person that gets a bit paranoid in dark creepy places, so I sometimes heard some animals in the brush that my mind used to trick me. At those times I would freeze, hold my breath, look around a bit and then keep going. But to my advantage on this adventure I was daring enough to face my slight fears and press on.

After I had been walking for an hour or two I stopped for a rest. I had already gone up, down, left and right on this path. I found a small one person sized gap in the vegetation to the right of the trail and plopped down, and my legs were quite thankful for it. I took a moment to just cool off and relax, wiping sweat off my forehead and pulling in gasps of air.

About that time I heard some more rustling in the bush, this one was bigger than the previous ones and definitely real. Wondering if it was another bear, I looked left in the direction of the noise but saw nothing. I just sat there for a moment, eyes locked towards the noise. Then everything went dead silent, not a single cricket even chirped. It was probably the creepiest few seconds of my entire life. I remember holding my breath to make things quieter so I could hear around me. I found myself engulfed with a feeling of impending doom and helplessness like I had never felt before.

To try and combat the fear I tucked my head between my knees and closed my eyes tight. Nothing changed, and I think I can remember possibly praying again. Things ran together so that I don’t remember details like that. Never before had I felt so alone and scared. I just wanted to go back to the other side of that river. But when I looked up to see which way to go, what I saw almost made me jump out of my skin. I was fortunate to have held back the scream.

Just a few feet in front of me was a creature like I had never seen before. It was extremely dark like a three-dimensional shadow, but also semi-transparent. If it had legs I couldn’t see them, because where they should have been was something like a dark cloak that swayed below it, not touching the ground. Its arms were thin as bone and its head had no facial features. And what made matters worse is that when I looked around me, I found myself surrounded by these things.

My heart began racing at a million miles per hour, and my head split in pain from the stress and adrenaline rush. Each of the creatures was slowly advancing towards me, and I came to the conclusion that they must have been following me since not long after the river crossing. As they inched closer what little gap there was between them was closed. Now I had no way out, I couldn’t go anywhere at all. I was surrounded by mysterious creatures and I didn’t have a clue what they wanted to do with me, but I had an idea it wasn’t good.

The creature in front of me reached out a four fingered hand towards my face. If it had breath I knew I could almost smell it. It inched closer, closer, closer. It’s bony fingertips were only centimeters from the tip of my nose. I held my breath, closed my eyes tight, and prepared for the worst my imagination could come up with.

At that moment my eyes detected a bright light outside of me. I didn’t dare open them for fear of being blinded. The shrieking and screaming noises those creatures made were almost unbearable, and I don’t know where to start in describing them. I curled up in the tightest ball I could and heard a voice tell me to freeze, so I did. My mind and body were in panic mode, I’d listen to anyone.

Then something picked me up from behind and covered my mouth with its hand and started running with me. I didn’t open my eyes at all the entire time. We kept going for what seemed like ages before I was finally put back down in a patch of grass. I looked up to see who had taken me, and it was my newly found friend. I didn’t care how he found me, I was just glad he did. But he wasn’t too happy about it all.

“I thought I told you to stay with me!” he said sternly, tears streaming down his face. “You know you could have died? Don’t you know that things are not always better on the other side?”

I just laid there; I didn’t know what to say except a short stutter.

“I…I…” I said.

“Never mind that,” he said, embracing me in a tight hug, “your alive and well now, that’s all that matters to me”.

We just sat there in a hug for a few moments before he spoke again.

“Now, I have something to tell you that you don’t want to hear, but it’s reality” he said.

I really didn’t like the sound of that. Hasn’t my night gone rotten enough already? But I couldn’t complain, it was my fault anyways.

“You have seen more than you should have tonight,” he continued, letting me go. “And now that those things are aware of your presence, they will stop at nothing to find you”.

Well now that’s just wonderful.

“I have to leave you now for a time. Stay here and don’t move. People of your type will be here for you shortly”.

No…no he can’t leave. My heart ached at the sound of his words and tears streamed down my face. I didn’t know if I could keep it together.

“Will…will I ever see you again?” I asked. This man had become my best friend in just one day, I didn’t really have any other friends left. I didn’t want to lose him too.

“Yes…but not for a long while,” he said calmly. “Remember what I said and do not fear, and even though you wont physically see me, I’ll be with you when you leave. But I must go now, those things are getting very close to us and I have to get rid of them”.

I nodded, accepting reality as hard as it was. The man gave me one final squeeze and without another word, ran off into the trees. I was left sitting on the ground bawling my eyes out. I had never been that upset in my whole life. I stayed there about five minutes until a new voice broke the silence.

“Who’s out there?” I heard a man yell.

I looked up and saw two men in reflective vests with flashlights come running towards me. Their light shined in my face as I sat up and within seconds they were laying me back down on the ground. One of them grabbed a radio and said they had found me. Apparently we were only a few hundred feet off the main road. I also take it that I was severely dehydrated, and was being provided with water almost immediately. I started coughing and found myself extremely thirsty. Looking up at the first man treating me I saw a patch with the letters ‘EMT’ embroidered onto it. I felt awful, but at least I was safe.

The two men loaded me into a stretcher to take me back to the main road. As they lifted me off the ground, tears still streaming, a flash of light followed by a boom came from behind us. Instantly we also heard faint screams like screams of terror. The men stopped in their tracks.

“What was that?” the second man said to the first.

“Probably just kids fooling around, not our problem, let’s get out of here” the first man replied.

And with that we were off. Minutes later I was surrounded by a whole team of rescuers, and minutes after that I was inside an ambulance being hooked up to all sorts of tubes. Then came my parents, who embraced me with arms and tears of joy. I was still in disbelief of the night, but it was so real it wasn’t something I could write off as a dream. It was an encounter.

Well, I guess that pretty much wraps things up here. I eventually got out of the hospital and made my way home two days later than planned. But that was alright because we were all reunited. Now I am an old man, sitting here writing this story for you to read. My hope is that in reading it you may learn some of the things I learned that night. The most important being to never trust your gut desires, they only lead you astray. As for the man from that night, I have never seen him since he left me for the rescuers. But I trust his word that we will be reunited again. My eyes tear up at the thought of the moment when we can be together again, my smile shining ear to ear. On that night I made a lifelong friendship that I’ll never let go of.

Despite the events of that night, I still go out into the woods, cane in hand of course. Often times I like to take my grandchildren on cross country adventures like I went on that night. I’ve never set foot into the same woods I did that night, but the quality time with those kids and grandkids of mine has given me a unique opportunity to share my stories and lessons with them. Maybe one day, some of my other adventures will find their way onto paper, but that’s for another time.

What started out as an afternoon adventure for a thirteen year old boy turned into an ultimate encounter…an encounter of unknown kinds.