Just as quickly as his fist moved from the buzzer, the unicorn disappeared into the fog of the night. I squinted hard at the space in front of me, rethinking my answer. Perhaps I had been too fast. I knew I shouldn't have looked at the fog, but he had left me so startled.
I pressed again, and this second time, I brought my eye up to the small window. It was a boy. Though my face was illuminated, his was not. For a split second, I thought it might be Fred, and I desperately wanted to believe the truth of this.
I didn't, though. There was no way I could be sure. The light from the window was too dim to see his face clearly.
I pressed my eye against the window trying to get a better look, but it was to no avail. A simple glance over my shoulder confirmed the shape at the window was still an indistinct shape. I decided to head back to the house. I had to know for sure. I got back to my bedroom and picked up my phone. I called my parents.
"I'm just letting you know, I'm going to bed. Don't wait up.
"Why? What's going on?
"I'm not sure, I just feel something weird. Sorry, I'm dropping you. I'll see you later. I hung up the phone and changed into a sweatshirt and pajama bottoms. I left my windows closed.
This time, the fog wasn't cooperating. I tried to make out the contours of the ground. Maybe if I stood on a chair, I would be able to see through the fog. No luck. The fog was just too thick.
It covered the entire hillside and was no closer to dispersing. The fog was as gross as it was hazardous. It was one of the reasons it was so thick.
My frustration was mounting, the wind had picked up. The wind was not the only thing picking up that night. My heart was pounding in my chest, as I descended back to the window. My knuckles were white as I grasped them tightly around the sides of the dresser.
My figure was tall and thin, and I looked out of place sitting on top of the wood furniture. I was almost certain I would be able to spot the figure, but nothing appeared. I crept back down and walked to the window. My heart was still racing.
In the corner of my eye, I could see him standing under the tree with the discarded jacket. I looked to my left and as I turned, I saw a man, who was apparently my age, standing in the center of my room; I nearly fell off the dresser.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?
"Ah! I-I'm sorry; I didn't expect you to be standing there. I thought I was alone.
"Waiting outside your window in the middle of the night is not a great method of remaining hidden, the man said.
I sighed, closed my eyes, and said a small prayer. Do I know you?"
"No, I'm not sure that you do.
"How did you get into my room?
"I wanted to see you.
"That's unacceptable.
"I'll leave if you want me to.
"No, it's okay. Stay. I wanted you to see me. I didn't want you to think I was the only one who was out of it at night. I'm not. I'm waiting for someone. They just left, because they had to go somewhere. I'm posted outside my bedroom door.
I don't mind if you stand next to me, but I have to warn you, the haziness in your room has me a little freaked out. I swore I saw someone. Does this happen to you a lot?
"You saw someone, too? I asked.
"I'm not sure, but I sleep with my window open every night. No one has ever been able to see me. You see, I'm a ghost. I haven't been much help.
I thought if I meet someone on the same page, maybe we could finally make progress. I'm not sure what kind of progress I'm looking for. I just want the fog to go away.
"You mean the fog in our front yard? I thought it only affected me.
"I guess that's true, but I have no control over the fog that comes in my house. It's a mystery to me why it won't disperse. Do you have any idea?
"I'm sure you're right. My window is right next to your tree, though. I hope the wind in our front doesn't have an effect on the one out there. You know, if I could work up the courage to go outside, I could probably see a lot better than I do.
"Well, the wind has been blowing pretty hard the last couple of days. I don't know if that has any effect on the fog. I know what you're thinking, but don't bother. It's too late, and no one can see me anymore. I'm stuck in this foggy place, and that's it.
"Man, I think I'm going crazy. What do you think?
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. You know, I was hoping the fog would eventually go away on its own. It hasn't, though. Neither has your illness, I have a feeling. I'm sorry, I didn't even ask you. How's it going?
"Ugh, I sighed. It's going fine, I guess. I sat back down on the dresser. I looked at him for a moment. I could barely make out his body and his face was completely obscured by the darkness. There were two faint lights that shone on him almost as if they were trying to illuminate his presence.
He was wearing old, relatively black clothes. His hair was sticking up around his head, as if he had been sleeping. His skin was pale, and his expression was seemingly lifeless.
"Take off your pajamas and come stand in front of me. The lights up here are pretty dim, but they're better than nothing. The figure nodded. I moved to the dresser and lifted off my pajama bottoms and pulled on the sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants.
After looking back at him, I turned my back to him and began walking back over to him. The two lights seemed to hover even higher. He was almost completely obscured in the darkness. It was frightening, but I felt safe enough. I knew it was silly, but I felt like I was going crazy, and if I was crazy, I'd go away.
