Don't Make Eye Contact

My then boyfriend, now husband, and I were on one of the many car rides from central Florida to Jacksonville, Florida we used to make at the beginning of our relationship when it was long distance (2 ½ hours is long when only one of you has a car and the other is in school etc.).

Anyway, we got off the highway in search of a gas station. We were driving down the road and saw one up ahead on the left side of the median. There were two lanes, a grass/cement median, two more lanes, and then the gas station entrance. We get over to the left turning lane by the median and I look over to see a man standing in the middle of the entrance to the gas station and he looks royally PISSED. We made eye contact and he looked at me as though there were not a person on this Earth that he hated more. I looked away and thought to myself, man that guy shouldn't be standing there he's bound to get hit by a car. Then it dawned on me; he's not a real person. I looked back quickly and he was gone. I told my husband (he knows I am sensitive to these things) what I just saw.

I find in my experience the way I can tell the difference between a flesh and blood person and a person who has passed is that they are somewhere they don't belong. Such as standing in the middle of the road or standing in a bush etc. The few people that I have seen, it's usually in my peripheral or if it is straight on the being is usually at a distance, like this man was.

We turned into the gas station and it was apparent that it had just finished raining in the area. My boyfriend got out of the Prius to go inside to pay and closed his door. Immediately things were strange. As soon as he closed the door it was complete silence in the car. As you know, if you're at a gas station there are people gassing up, getting in and out of their cars, talking, sometimes there is even music playing; nothing. It was complete silence.

That is until, *plop*. This was the sound of a water drop hitting the top of the car from the covered areas that are over the gas pumps in case of bad weather. Again... *plop*. It is still silent otherwise and I start feeling very uncomfortable and afraid. It felt as though something horrible was about to happen so I stared down at my feet. I felt as though if I looked out my window that man would be standing there. I felt it in my soul! I just knew he was there! When that thought crossed my mind there was another *PLOP*. Except MUCH louder this time! It didn't make any sense to me that the volume of the water drops, the force in which they hit the car could increase, but I swear it did! And still SILENCE. It was maddening! All I could hear was the water drops hitting the car and I didn't dare look out the window. *PLOP*...*PLOP*...*PLOP* I couldn't take it anymore! I squeezed my eyes shut and threw open my door and got out of the car. I looked up and my boyfriend was standing by the rear of the car and had just FINISHED pumping gas.

I didn't hear ANYTHING! Everyone knows the familiar sound of the person gassing up unscrewing the gas lid it falling and lightly hitting the side of the car, the obnoxious loud beeps when you select your fuel grade and then put the nozzle into the tank. I heard NONE of this and he was already finished! As soon as I got out of the car and saw my boyfriend, the sounds the noises everything came rushing back. The sick feeling in my gut was gone and things were normal again. I don't know what happened to that man or why he was so angry! But I do know if you make eye contact and they know you can see them, they will try to get your attention.

Note to self-*DON'T make eye contact. Thank you for reading.