u      It was a very cold night- probably the coldest night of the month. Above, the moon, a perfect O, shone brightly. The sky, bluer than ever, with no clouds scaterring, appeared to be suspended in the atmosphere. The stars glitered in the sky, sparkling like precious gems of yellow, blue, orange, and red lights that decorated the heavens.

     I, with y jacket around me, walked sprightly, sometimes hopping and bouncing, hoping to gather a little warmth that way. Conscious of the comings and goings of the vehicles, I would occasionally turn my head, from left to right then to the left again. I continued walking, thinking and dreaming at the same time, og the hot bath, the warm and delicious soup and the warm and comfortable bed – in that order- that awaited me in my house.

     I was so absorbed on what I was thinking when suddenly I discovered that I  made a wrong left turn. I had not memorized and became accustomed yet to the right turnings at that place since I was a new resident there, a month to be exact. It was also my third venture to walk alone. Rapidly collecting my scattering thoughts, I suddenly remembered that I have to turn left at the next bend and not here. I started to turn back. I had made a dozen steps or so when I noticed somebody standing at an acacia tree nearby. I stopped and stared at him.

     He was ghastly white, death pale, in fact. He stood tall, quite upright, immobile. His clothes were torn to pieces, tattered. He was thin,  malnourished, I assumed. He appeared to be all bones. But a closer look indicated that he had but little flesh. His hair was badly cut and it was long, shoulder length.

   Curiously, I moved closer to catch a more distinct and clearer picture of the man. I saw that he had deep set eyes, a high-bridged nose and thick eyebrows. His cheeks were hollowed and his ckeekbones were prominently standing out. He smiled, grinning at me, the whiteness of his teeth reflected byt he moon’s brilliance.

     “Hello”, he said. I heard him loud and clear….. Such a steely,s trong and clear voice!

      The hair on my nape and temple rose. Even the hair on my skin joined the others. Eventhough the night was cold, my hands became moist and clammy. My body grew warm and I was perspiring. My feet was paralyzed for a moment but they bolted suddenly like a horse that had just seen a rabbit suddenly cross its path.

      I was already at home in a matter of minutes. I could have doneit walking for half an hour. My cousin who met me at the door was surprised when she saw me. Going to the living room, I told her everything. WHen I finished telling her my story, she burst out laughing and told me that I have a very colorful and active imagination….

    The very next day, she accompanied me to the place where I met the stranger. And there he was, a scarecrow, grinning at the two of us. Though he bore the same replica of the man I saw last night, I still could not believe that this scarecrow was really him. Didn’t I hear him say hello to me?

     My cousing pointed a finger to the upper brance of the acacia. I followed the direction to where her finger was pointing at and there it was… an old sleepy owl who greeted me last night. I was embarassed alright for being a scaredy-cat.

     But, if you were me, wouldn’t you have reacted the same way?