Mystical Night for Spirits

It finally rained today, bringing an end to triple digit temperatures that have plagued central Oklahoma for the better part of a month. Dark clouds graced the sky as I set out on my evening walk. Even though the temperature was only eighty, humidity made it feel hotter. A slight breeze began blowing, making me hope the dog days of summer are finally over.

A year has passed since I saw the neighborhood ghosts that live in the creek bed near my house. I’ve looked for them many times this past year but I haven’t seen, or experienced anything out of the ordinary. Tonight, I saw something unusual.

Hazy darkness had almost encompassed me as I walked down the hill toward the ghost creek. With the weather cooler for a change, fireflies were flickering in the darkness where the creek crosses the road. I thought I saw something flicker that wasn’t a firefly.

The bright spot that seemed to be moving ever so slightly was gone when I reached the base of the hill. A white mailbox marked the spot where I saw a transparent being walking toward me. It was dark and hazy and I don’t have the best eyesight even in the best of conditions. Still, it could have been one of the two ghosts I saw last year.

A big brindle cat was walking down the middle of the road when I rounded the corner. I stopped to pet him and he let me, even though it was dark and I a stranger. Maybe he had also just seen the ghost and relished a comforting human touch at that moment. I don’t know, but a hazy moon appeared through the clouds as I started up the hill to my house, suddenly sensing it was a mystical night for spirits, and that maybe my eyes hadn’t deceived me.

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