Max had the weirdest feeling that someone was looking at him. He had that feeling one has when one walks into a room and all the eyes are noticing. Or maybe that nagging feeling, sitting in a classroom, and the feeling like someone is staring, and then a careful look over the shoulder reveals, that in fact, someone is staring.
Liking is the cake, and sharing is the icing. C’mon. It’s ICING.
This was concerning to Max because he was taking a hike in the woods, by himself. Being alone, and not being familiar with these environs, Max was keeping it simple. He was staying on the groomed path, not doing anything off trail, and merely trying to enjoy the scene, and relax. It was those dang eyes though. He knew it was real.
What I do is this. As soon as I wake up, I prepare myself with a normal morning routine, and then I sit down and write a story about whatever comes to mind. More often than not, it is a surprise. Many people call this “Flash Fiction”. This is Flash Fiction February.
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Max pulled out his binoculars and surveyed the perimeter. There were two ridges., each of them at angles behind him. Those ridges continued on either side of him. He looked into the forest, scanning carefully, then along the ridge tops. He then looked forward again. In front of him it was wide open, with the forest becoming more sparse. He saw nothing up ahead. He looked forward to getting out from the thicker stuff, and into the clearing up ahead. He puts his binocs away and continues forward.
These were some nice woods. Max likes to get hikes in whenever he can when he’s traveling. He’s been all over and he enjoyed these woods. It was a very lovely early Autumn day. Still warm enough to be comfortable; leaves just starting to turn, that rich smell of wood peat, and several varieties of colorful fungus to go with it.
As Max comes out of the denser forest and into a clearing, he felt that strong sensation again. As he exited the wood, to his distant right, there was a larger mountain ridge. The distant ridge line essentially matched the height of the proximal treetops of the forest he had just emerged from. Where they intersected, formed a sort of corner, or pocket. His eyes were locked there. He felt like it was the source of the sensation he had been feeling, that of being watched.
Just as he turned his head, he thought he saw a flash, or a reflection in the sky, where the treetops met the far-off ridge. He looked again. He thought he saw something faint there. Then whatever it was he was seeing was more pronounced. More pronounced than that, however, was that unmistakable sense that whatever he was seeing was aware of him. More strange and interesting was that not only was it aware of him, but he felt certain that it was aware that he was aware of it. He knew that they knew, that he knew.
As he stood there looking at this orb, or light, or something in the far-off distance, above that ridge, intermittently fading behind it and the tops of the trees, he did not feel frightened. He was more curious. He was happy to have this friendly engagement if they did.
Max already knew we are not alone here. He had seen other anomalous things, always from a distance. He heard stories that were consistent and made sense to him. He understood that, considering the fact that the Earth is full of a seemingly infinite range of varying conscious life, why should the universe be any different?
As he pondered these types of things, watching the light in the sky with a smile, thinking about how unique of an experience it is, he reached into his bag for his binoculars. He dropped his eyes for a moment to remove the lens covers, and the object was gone. He waited to no avail. It did not reappear. That sense, however, that sense that he knew that they knew that he knew. That sense persisted.
The End 636 Words
