Here's that story that I promised to post, and since I'm not exactly sure what category to put it under, I guess that I'll put it here. This story is pretty long, so I'm going to have to break it up into several postings. And, oh yeah, since this account is something that actually happened, I've taken the liberty of changing the names. Well, here goes...I was 22 years old when I met Vinnie. We both worked at the same department store, lowly clerks in our respective departments. We were both into alternative music--and, as this was some years ago, people like us were widely referred to as "punks." Actually, it was back in the days when Sid Viscious was still in the flesh. After running into each other several times in the break-room, we discovered our mutual tastes in music--"Black Flag," "X," "Agent Orange," etc. We laughed about the difficulties of trying to tone down our images, so that we could fit into the working world by day. We hit it off and started going to underground music gigs together, with each of us returning to our parents' houses to eat, sleep and shower. Within a few months time, we were the best of friends, able to finish each other's sentences, and laugh at each other's jokes, even when no one else seemed to get it. I should probably say right here that our relationship was platonic. We were more like brother and sister, which we often told people that we were. Anyway, one day, Vinnie told me that his parents were going away for a 3 month vaction, and that they were expecting him to house-sit. "Come stay at my house--it'll be cool," he said. I wasn't the only friend that Vinnie invited to stay over. Three of his friends from high school--Rob, Kim and Lee (each of whom had been kicked out of their parents' houses, for various reasons) were going to be there, too. When I got to Vinnie's house, Rob was in the process of moving his stuff downstairs, into the den. Lee was already set up in there, on the good couch. Rob would have to make do with the other one. "How come he's not staying in one of the bedrooms?" I asked Vinnie. He shrugged and walked away. To my surprise, I found out that Kim had already been there a couple of days, but was already gone. Kinda wierd, considering that she had nowhere else to sleep, I thought. Whatever. Later on, I remember asking Rob, "Hey, how come you're down here on the couch, instead of upstairs in a bed?" Without looking up at me, he replied, "I don't wanna talk about it." Fine with me, I figured. That night, I settled into the guest room. After we'd all turned in, the house was very quiet, and I drifted off to sleep. Sometime, much later that night, I awoke with a shock. I did not know what had jolted me awake so suddenly, but I my heart was pounding. The house was totally quiet, and filled with the darkest dark that I had ever seen. Illumination from the streetlights outside seemed not to penetrate the windows, and I couldn't even make out the shape of my own hand in front of my face. I had that creepy feeling that most children get, at one time or another, of being terrified to move or make a sound, for fear that they'll catch the attention of something scary lurking unseen nearby. Now remember, I was 22 years old, and even when I was a little kid, I'd never been afraid of the dark. Still, I was paralyzed with nameless dread. I had the overwhelming feeling of being watched, and I was afraid to look around to see if I really was or not. I cautiously peered around, trying to be brave, but the thick darkness seemed wrapped around me. I could almost touch it--it scared the crap out of me. My conscious, rational mind kept trying to calm me with logic--there's nothing there...it was a bad dream...you're too old to be afraid of the dark...get a grip on yourself, Niki, and so on...But my natural animal instincts were warning me on a gut level that something was definitely BAD about all this. Even if I laid perfectly still under the sheets, staring straight up into the blackness, I couldn't get the image of the open doorway to the hall out of my mind. It felt like that was where the "watching" was coming from. Yet, when I turned my head, I could see by the glow of the night light in the bathroom, which spilled feebly out into the hall, that the doorway was empty. As the minutes ticked by, these feelings of terror clamped down tighter and tighter. This was how I passed the remainder of the night. Finally, dawn's light forced it's way into the room, and I felt as though I'd been unchained. I was outta that bed and down those stairs real fast. As I was making instant coffee in the microwave, the others began to wake up. By now, I felt thoroughly stupid about the night before. It was easy to convince myself that I'd imagined the whole thing, with the bright sunshine streaming through the patio doors. So, Vinnie and I left the other two at the house and took off for a couple of days, up to the mountains, then dropping by friends' houses, staying a night here, a night there. When we returned to Vinnie's house, only Lee was still there. Rob had left for parts unknown. As it happened, Lee had a date with his girlfriend that evening, so he left the house in the late afternoon. Vinnie had a major argument with another good friend of ours, and decided that he needed a long jog to work out his anger. So, by sundown, I was again in the house alone. I fixed something to eat, went downstairs to the den and curled up in front of the TV. After a while, I went back upstairs, and noticed that every light in the house was blazing. Just like Vinnie, I thought. It didn't occur to me, at the time, that maybe Vinnie always left all the lights on for a reason. I went all through the house and turned off all of the lights, except for the one that I was using. Then I went back to my movie. About halfway through, the oddest thing began to happen. As I focused on the TV, out of the corner of my eye, the black rectangle of the doorway suddenly seemed impossible to ignore. Soon, I was watching it, with sidelong glances, as much as I was watching the TV. I began to feel an unfamiliar sensation in my stomach. It was a quivering, a tingling--I'm not sure how to describe it--and at the same time I got that "being watched" feeling again. You know the one I mean, where the hair stands up on the back of your neck, and when you look around, you spot someone actually staring at you...As the movie droned on, these nasty sensations deepened, especially the one centered on my abdomen. And, just like the other night, I was again glued in place by a paralyzing dread. Now, instead of the dark doorway, the point from which these frightening feelings seemed to be coming had shifted to the center of the ceiling. In my mind, an impression of hate-filled eyes formed, as if there was something up there, drilling itself into me. I only knew that I felt completely vulnerable, exposed, in danger. But, just like the other night, even while my body sensed the unseen whatever-it-was, my rationality tried to soothe me with appeals to my practicality--grow up, Niki...there's nothing there...it's crazy for a grown woman to be spooked like this...But, my instincts were having none of that. No amount of reason could cut through that awful, canary-about-to-get-eaten-by-a-cat feeling...A loud banging upstairs jolted me, then there was a familiar voice, "Hey, Niki--open the door! Hey!" It was Lee! I vaulted off of that couch and up those stairs like I'd been shot out of a cannon. After fumbling the locks I flung open the door and leaped on Lee, crushing him in a bear-hug and crying, all at the same time. I was babbling, trying to tell him what had happened. But, it seemed so hard to explain--I mean, what had really happened? I must have sounded like an idiot. I didn't notice at the time, but it makes sense to me now, that he didn't seem at all surprised by my terrified flood of words. He kept telling me, "It's OK, it's gonna be OK now." We both went back downstairs to the den, the only oasis of light in the inky blackness of the house. Lee told me, "Look, you gotta talk to Vinnie about this. I ain't gonna piss him off, 'cause I got nowhere else to go. But, don't worry. We'll be OK for now. Don't worry." And, true to his word, even though I was still scared, I felt safe in Lee's presence. Later on that night, Vinnie came home. I had a lot of questions for him. Well, this is where I have to stop for tonight. There is more to tell, but it will have to wait for tomorrow. Goodnight. How it changed my life:How did this change my life? Oh, where to begin...When you finally get to read the remainder of what happened to Vinnie and I, you'll understand what I mean when I say that these experiences led me to a deeper respect for prayer, and the power of religious ritual. I also acquired a rock solid belief in clairvoyance, and in the power of individual human beings to effect change in the metaphysical realm, through the use of concentrated will.
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