The+shady+figure+behind+the+ping+pong+table

I see you… But only when I'm not looking. As soon as I turn to face you, you're… gone… So I look away and continue to eat my meal and there you are… just pacing

I don't recognize you. You’re my grandmother dying in bed. Ailing from a disease that eats her from the inside out. I can't see your face; is it even there?

I know that only I can see you. Your hunched back and your unnatural gait haunt only me. The longer you walk the more I fear you. And yet I can't face you straight on. I must remain paranoid. The way I felt passing by a car crash, praying that it wasn’t my sister being lifted into the ambulance.

I ponder your mystery. But before I can think too long, you've vanished from existence. You’re the boyfriend who raped me and left the country before I could say anything.

I'm still visited by your shadow in my mind. You’re the nightmares of the man who shot my father.

I can still see you hobble back and forth. You’re the scout of the dead army. My friends have seen your likes before. But you are a dark being, unlike any other.

I don't know what to make of you. Why did //I// see you? Why today? Why here? What are you trying to tell me? You’re the death of my brother on the battlefield of Iraq, on my wedding day.

I fear you, yet I need you to return. Come back. Stay. Let me discover what you mean.