Flecks of Varied Colors

The Lost Pair

MARCH 27, 2021 PROMPT
In your entry today, write about one of the most frightening moments of your life.

The Lost Pair

L

iving in a place so remote from the city has lots of frightening moments one will certainly encounter. And I'm not an exception to this. I have different frightening encounters during my childhood to teenage days back in my original place. Perhaps my exposure to some horror movies we used to watch every time we visit our grandma (to watch TV/movies since we don't have one) had impacted and contributed pretty much to my being frightful. But who wouldn't be frightened when you hear noises while on your way home amidst a dark evening alone?

         I remember that moment when my mother asked me to buy cooking oil, salt and seasonings for the dish she'll be preparing for our dinner. We used to store items like these and other cooking necessities the fact that we're far but that time, mother might had forgotten to restock and refill our kitchen. So I was tasked to go downtown to secure these items. It was already late afternoon and if we will go downtown at this time of the day and considering the distance, it is expected that we will end up walking in the middle of the night. Our way home is never a cakewalk but literally a mud walk during rainy season. Luckily I was wearing my father's "rain boots" and mud wasn't much of a deal.

         After securing all the items my mother had on the list, I immediately rushed home. And of course it was already evening. I was trudging on the wet alley illuminated only with the tiny flashlight embedded on the tip of the lighter I have. Although the lighting it gave was tiny, it was enough for me to at least see where I trudge. There was no moon that time, no houses along, and the alley was in between thick sugarcane plantation thus making the path so dark. When I passed along the river, a strange sound came into my ears. It was a sound I can hardly distinguish accompanied with some scratching sounds just right atop the tree nearby. I was having goosebumps and just when I focus my flashlight on the place where the sound came from, a pair of eyes sparkled from the lighting appeared to my sight. Before I could even think of something, I quickly picked up my boots and started running as fast as I possibly could. I didn't mind the painful thorns and sharp rocks that hit my bear feet nor my several bumps on banana trees I came across.

         I finally arrived, panting and still frightened. My mother asked me what happened and I told her what I saw. She said it might be a stray cat or dog or maybe a cow then she collected the items I firmly grip with my right hand. "Where's the other boots?" she asked with scornful looks fixed on me. I might had dropped the other pair while on my way home. I said and promised to look for it first thing on the following day as I didn't have the courage to go back and search for the lost pair. She said that I must find it or my father will kill me.

         Thanks for reading my frightful experience. I still have lots of frightful experiences though, but that's for another story. Thank you and cheers!