The following experience happened when I was younger.

My parents had gone through a very bad and long divorce. I ended up moving in with my father and stepmother out on my father’s 56 acre ranch in central Texas.

It was a large sprawling piece of property that was located 9 miles from the nearest town. We had no neighbors living on either side of us. But in front of us was a huge peach patch that seemed to go on for miles.

When the peach trees started to bear their fruit, the sweet smell would always tempt your craving for some of their natural goodness.

I spent a lot of time out on the ranch without a soul around, being that both my father and stepmother worked long hours most days which left me alone on the ranch. One of my favorite things to do was explore the property which seemed to go on forever.

I would pack up a book, my headphones and my music player and start exploring. I would walk down to the pond (which I could see from my window but was pretty creepy at night). I wouldn’t stay very long since the cattle on the property used to like to drink from the pond and would always leave their calling cards for anyone to step on.

I would walk down to the creek at the front of the property that was heavily wooded in some parts. I had to be careful since rattlesnakes and copperheads are common in the area.

I’d cross the bridge over the creek and walk down the gravel road with my dad’s property on my right and the peach patch on my left. I’d walk for an hour without seeing one car or person.

One afternoon I put some new batteries in my music player, grabbed a Coke-a-Cola and headed down the road to just kill some time and explore.

It wasn’t long before I started to get an eerie feeling. A sort of tingling on the back of my neck. My stomach started to feel queasy. I started to feel very nervous but didn’t know why.

Then my music player started to die out! The batteries were right out of a new package so I couldn’t explain why. I stopped in the middle of the road fiddling with my player and making sure the headphones were properly connected.

Then from the corner of my eye I felt like I was being watched. I quickly looked off to my right into the thick brush and tree line that started about 25 feet away. I couldn’t see anything but I was sure something was watching me.

My stomach dropped and my hands started to shake. My face was flushed and I felt light headed.

I threw my half empty Coke can into the thick brush into the direction I was sensing something. The can fell off into the grass and didn’t make it into the tree line.

Everything was so quiet. No birds, crickets or frogs that were my usually heard all the time. No wind. Nothing.

I stood completely still. Barely breathing. My eyes and ears were more alert than ever. I couldn’t smell the peaches anymore. The scent in the air was more of a metallic smell. Like old water exposed to rust.

I stood there for what seemed like an hour but in reality was probably 3 minutes.

Then I saw something.

I only saw a shadow or a silhouette in the thick brush. It darted away from view in a split second. But it was positioned in a spot that could see me very clearly if I would have known it was there.

I couldn’t tell you how large or small the silhouette was but if I had to guess I’d say around 4-5 feet tall.

A moment later behind the tallest trees I could see movement. Had this “thing” climbed the tree that fast? Then I saw it was much bigger than the silhouette! It was a large mass of something moving very slowly behind the trees. It was high enough to see it was probably about thirty feet wide.
But I couldn’t make out any details.

All I knew was the “shadow” in the brush and this thing that was floating slowly through the skyline were connected. I was frozen.

Then in a second it had vanished! No noise. No gush of air. No sign that it was even there! No sign of this Unidentified… Flying… Object…. This U.F.O… The letters echoed in my mind, but only in a whisper.

I stood there motionless for about another minute. My legs felt like jello. My stomach felt like I had been punched and was hurting something awful.

What made me snap back into reality was the scent of peaches waifing into my nostrils. I was safe and this “thing” was now gone.

I ran home as quickly as I could. The entire scenery was a blur. I was in my own head and my internal GPS got me home since I was not focusing on my direction. I only cared how fast my legs would go.

I slammed the back door behind me locking it and closing all the curtains in the entire house. I turned on all the lights and stayed out of my room. I wanted to be in a common room. I didn’t want to be alone. I turned on the TV and raised the volume very high. I can’t tell you what was on though.

I couldn’t wait for my father or stepmother to arrive. It felt like days.

Finally I heard the familiar rumble of my stepmother’s small red Toyota driving up the long road to our house around 7:00PM in the evening. I watched her through he window and waved as soon as she was in view. She waved back. I was so happy to see another person!

I ran out to meet her and she quickly asked if everything was okay. I guess she could tell that something was different.

I never did tell her or my father about that experience. I felt like if I spoke about it I might make it come back. I wanted to bury it and forget about it. I didn’t want to relive that helpless feeling again.

Living out there in the middle of nowhere was an experience to say the least. There were several times when I saw or heard things that were hard to explain. There were things out there that I would rather forget.

But sometimes talking about and sharing your darkest moments can help you as well as others.

Or does talking about it really does make it come back?…

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