I don't care if anyone believes me. I have spent my whole life afraid to tell this story in fear that I would be called crazy. Afraid that I would be exiled from society and thrown into some asylum for people that actually see things. But I know that what I saw was real. And that fear of being cast-away led me to have a sad life. Wallowing away in my misery as that day replays over and over again in my head. I am an old man now, and with my time on Earth slowly approaching it's end, I feel as if I have to get this off my chest. Somebody has to hear me.

They say that people with grief and trauma tend to forget the events that happened. Forget the things that led to them being so fucked up, but I remember every single thing about that day. Every word spoken, every action taken, and I remember him.

This happened on a Saturday in the fall of 65'. A time where there were no cell phones, social media, videogames, or anything else that keeps you kids busy these days. I had just turned sixteen, my sister, Ellie, had turned eight the month prior. When my father died from falling off a ladder the year before, I had to push through the pain and step up to be the man of the house, helping my mom around the house, and most importantly, being a positive male role model for Ellie. From the time my dad died, she was glued to my hip.

Our weekends consisted of me and Ellie doing our chores before hanging out together. I gave up time with friends, slowly losing my bond with them in order to guide and protect Ellie. When you lose a family member, especially at such a young age, you realize that the only connection that matters is family. At least for me.

This Saturday was no different. Me and Ellie woke up and went downstairs to our mother, who was making breakfast. Fifty-seven years later and the smell of eggs and bacon still haunt me because it reminds me of this day. As we ate, my mom and I stared out the sliding glass door that led to our backyard. The scene was picturesque. The trees that lined the sides of our fifty-meter long yard had changed their colors from a bright, lush green to various shades of red, orange, and yellow.

As we stared outside, the wind blew, and with every gust, leaves were shaken off the trees, and scattered across the yard. My mom broke her gaze from the door and looked at me. "Why don't you and Ellie go clean up those leaves? Maybe teach her how to use a rake?"

"And then we can play?" Ellie asked in excitement.

"Mhm, and then you can play." Mom smiled down at her,then looked back up to me.

I nodded. "You got it."

I cleaned up the dishes and grabbed Ellie's hand. "You ready?" I asked her.

"Ready!" She yelled back. Although I had grabbed Ellie's hand, she led the way. She ran ahead, pulling me forward and forcing me into a little trot in order to keep up with her.

We went outside, and I let her rake up the first pile of leaves, then I did the rest of the work. Everytime a new pile would form she would jump into it, letting out a howl of laughter as her little body got buried in the mountains of orange and red. Although I would have to re-rake the leaves she jumped into, I didn't mind because I loved seeing her happy.

"What are we gonna to do today?" She asked innocently as the last pile was made.

"I want to take you to see the waterfall in the woods."

"Well I wanna have a tea party with you and my dolls."

With winter approaching, I feared that Ellie wouldn't get to see the waterfall before it froze up for the winter. I had always wanted to take her to see it, and this was the perfect time of year for her to experience the true beauty of nature.

"We'll have a tea party tomorrow." I said.

"Tomorrow?" She asked, drawing out the last syllable in a whiny tone.

"Tomorrow." I nodded, and smiled down at her.

She put on a pouty face. "Promise then."

"I promise, Ellie."

Back in the house, Mom was in the middle of making our lunch. "I'm taking Ellie to see the waterfall today. We shouldn't be gone too long."

She looked down at Ellie. "Oh! That sounds very fun!" She said excitedly.

Ellie looked at the ground and groaned out, "I wanted to have a tea party."

"Which we are going to have tomorrow." I chimed in.

Mom squatted down to Ellie so she could look her in the eyes. "You can't always get your way, Ellie. Sometimes, you have to do what other people want. And when you are more open minded to others ideas, you realize that those ideas really aren't that bad. Fun, even."

"Ugh, fine." Ellie groaned.

Mom got up and slipped the sandwiches she was making into plastic baggies. "Here, take these with you." She said as she extended them out to me, and I thanked her.

"I know you're going to be safe, but please be safe." She paused, and looked down at Ellie. Ever since Dad had fallen off the ladder, Mom was always scared a freak accident would happen to one of us. I suppose you don't realize or even believe all of the things that could go wrong until they happen to you or someone you love. Perhaps because I buried the pain of losing my father so deep, I still thought that nothing bad could happen to us.

She looked back up at me. "Just, please bring your sister home in one piece."

"I will. I promise." I reassured her.

We told Mom we love her, and headed out the back door. When we reached the edge of the woods that butted up against our backyard, Ellie said that she was scared to go in. I told her that nothing in the forest wanted to hurt her, and even if there was something that did, I was there to protect her. Her tension released as she grabbed my hand, and we walked in together.

Entering the forest was like entering into a different universe. The sounds of cars, passing trains, and the general sounds of the outside world were all muted by the thick trees. Instead, they were replaced by chirping birds, skittering chipmunks, the wind blowing through the trees, and the fall leaves crunching against our feet.

A ways into the forest, we began to hear the gentle talk of the stream that lead to the waterfall, and eventually we came upon it to find a deer drinking. Ellie got excited by it. She had never seen such a creature up close before. As we were taking in it's beauty, the splashing of it's tongue against the water stopped, and it looked down stream. My eyes followed the deer's, but I couldn't see what it saw.

The deer flinched as if something had startled it, and took off running as fast as it could in the direction that me and Ellie had came, kicking up dirt and leaves every time it's hooves hit the ground. I knew this wasn't a good sign, but I didn't listen to my instincts. Whatever had startled the deer was in the direction that we were going, and still I promised Ellie that it was ok, and we continued on.

When we reached the waterfall, Ellie and I sat down on the rocks that laid on the side of it. It had been an unusually dry fall, so the waterfall that was usually bursting with water was more reminiscent of a leaky faucet.

"This is what you wanted me to see?" Ellie asked.

Feeling embarrassed and pretty bad that I dragged Ellie out to see what was basically a rock with some water on it, I said "I'll tell you what, we'll eat our lunch then head back, and tonight we can have dinner and a tea party with your dolls. Mom too."

When I said this, Ellie's once melancholy mood changed, and was replaced with joy. We pulled out the sandwiches mom had made, and soon the sounds of us chewing were added into the mix of the wildlife around us. We listened to the sounds of nature, and stared at the fish jumping from the stream, coming up to grab the flies buzzing just above the water.

Our peaceful afternoon stopped when one of the fish jumped out of the stream, and stiffened up in mid-air. It splashed back down into the water, sunk a little bit, and then floated back to the surface belly-up. At the same time, the forest went quiet. Like someone hitting pause on a movie.

Ellie stared at the fish that was now floating down stream and asked. "What happened to him?" Before I could answer, the sounds of snapping twigs and crunching leaves came from behind us.

Bear was my first thought, and so I pulled out my pocket knife that I had packed in preparation, ready to fight off any potential four-legged attacker. Instead, what emerged through the brush was a man.

His skin was as white as the snow that would soon cover the forest we were in. Thick, black hair was greased back against his head, and he had the longest, sharpest nails I have ever seen. Each of them were shaved perfectly into the shape of arrow heads.

He stared directly at Ellie. "He died!" He said in a giddy, child-like tone, letting out a belly full of giggles. We had told Ellie to never talk to strangers, and so she stared down at the ground, ignoring the man.

"Excuse me little girl, did you not hear me?" He said.

I spoke up. "She doesn't talk to people she doesn't know. Who are you?"

"My name is James." He looked at me for the first time, then looked down at the knife I was holding in my hand. "Oh my! Would you put that away for me?" He pointed his long finger at the blade.

I forgot that I was still holding it, and so I put it back into my pocket. As soon as I did, the man started approaching. He took long, exaggerated strides. With every one of his steps, I felt his presence more. There was a density that omitted from the man. He made the air thicker, harder to breathe. When he reached us, he sat down across from us. My stomach bubbled, and my heart jumped into my throat. I couldn't let my own fear stop me from protecting Ellie, though.

When he sat down, the man closed his eyes, put his nose to the sky, and took in several quick breaths. Like a dog trying to smell what's cooking for dinner. He let out a sigh of pleasure. "Ahhh I love that smell."

He looked at the sandwiches that me and Ellie were holding. "Well, are you going to share? I am your guest, after all." Reluctantly, I handed my sandwich over to him, and he gaped his jaws wide. Instead of teeth, sharp, jagged fangs extended from his gums. The little knives pierced through the sandwich, and he devoured it in one bite.

I stared, wide eyed at the man who I realized was not human. I stared in bewilderment at the man that I learned was not a man at all. The density that fumed from him was the thickness of evil.

He noticed me staring. "Is something the matter, boy?" He asked curiously with his mouth full, in between chews.

I tried to respond, but I was unable to speak. Instead, jumbled groans came out. I took in a deep breath and cleared my throat, and was finally able to say "um, no. Not at all."

The mans lips curved upwards into a grin. "Good." He said.

We sat in silence for a few seconds that, in the mans presence, felt like an eternity. He finished chewing, and took a loud gulp before looking at Ellie again. "Well, little girl. You never answered my question."

Ellie looked over to me, and I nodded to her, giving her the go ahead to speak to him. "What happened to him, James?" She asked innocently.

The man (who's name I refuse to say), leaned forward and, in just above a whisper, said. "Sometimes, freak accidents happen. Just look at, well. Nevermind that." As he said this, he giggled the same as he had when he first came out of the brush.

My body heated up, and rage flowed through me. I knew that the man was taunting me, and I had to just sit there and let him do it in fear of him hurting us. In fear of him hurting Ellie.

"Say, you kids never told me your names. We can't be well met if I tell you mine and you don't tell me yours." He said.

Ellie pointed at herself. "I'm Ellie."

The man looked over at me. "And you?"

"Michael." I said.

"Ellie, Michael. It's a pleasure to meet you." The man said.

"The pleasure is all mine." I said, trying to be nice.

"Michael!" The man yelled. "So polite! That would have gotten you so far in life!"

Would have. I froze. The man grinned at me again.

"James, what are you going to be for Halloween?" Ellie asked.

The man stared at me for a couple more seconds before looking at Ellie. "I'm going to be a vampire." He paused, and groaned. "Argh, would you just give me a second?"

He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. When he opened them wide, his eyes had changed from a dark, deep blue to a bright, burning yellow.

"I just cannot get over that smell."

His sudden transformation, and my confusion as to what he was smelling given that the sandwiches were gone broke me out of my trance.

"What smell?" I asked him.

"The smell of FRESH MEAT!" He screamed out, launching himself at Ellie and grabbing her wrist, pulling her into him and burying his face into her neck, taking a big, exaggerated whiff of her.

Ellie screamed out, and I jumped into action. I took the knife out of my pocket and flipped it open, the sound of the blade not deterring the man. I stood up and grabbed Ellie by the arm, pulling her into me. At the same time, I drew the knife back, and brought it down, slashing the man across the face.

Blood squirted from the wound. The man put a finger up to the gash in his face, and wiped across it. As he did, the cut disappeared. He wasn't wiping the blood from his face. He was wiping the wound off. Healing himself.

I ran. With Ellie in hand, we sprinted through the forest. My throat burned and my stomach tightened in exhaustion as we tried to outrun the man.

The sound of crunching leaves echoed behind us, and the mans steps were a little bit faster than ours. He was gaining on us.

"GET BACK HERE KIDS! WHEN I CATCH YOU I'M GONNA MAKE YOU DEAD, JUST LIKE YOUR FUCKING FATHER!"

As he screamed, his steps got even faster, and I knew that we wouldn't be able to outrun him. I stopped, and turned around. As the man ran at us he extended his arms out, trying to grab me. I wound my leg back, and drove my foot directly into his kneecap.

My kick caused the man to fall. Ellie and I tried to start running again, but as we were about to take off, Ellie got pulled back. I turned around to see that from the ground, the man had grabbed onto both of her thighs, and he was tugging, trying to pull her into him.

I pulled back, and we were in a game of tug of war, with Ellie acting as the rope. The mans sharp fingernails rapidly extended, growing even longer into menacing, deadly blades. He pierced them into Ellie's thighs, and she let out a horrible, pain filled scream.

I put my head to the sky and closed my eyes, using all of my strength for one final tug. I screamed into the clouds, and Ellie came flying back into my arms. I wasted no time. I ran as fast as I could, carrying Ellie through the forest as she was screamed the entire time. When I felt warm blood dripping down my arm, I understood why she was screaming.

I was in such a rush to outrun the man that I never checked on Ellie. I looked down at her legs, and instead, I saw stubs. Blood poured out of her amputated limbs like a faucet. I looked behind us, just as the man was biting down into one of Ellie's separated legs, ripping out a chunk of her flesh with his teeth and gnawing on it like a dog with a bone.

Seeing this made me release my own scream, and the forest was filled with mine and Ellie's cries. As we were a little ways away from the house, Ellie went quiet, and her face went pale. She had lost so much blood and was in so much pain that her body couldn't take it anymore.

The words my mom said to me and the promise that I made to her echoed through my head as we reached the house.

Just, please bring your sister back home in one piece.

I will. I promise.

When we reached our backyard, I saw my mom on the deck having a cigarette. "MOM! MOM!" I called out to her. She quickly put her cigarette out and ran down the back steps, sprinting towards me and Ellie. When she reached us and saw her only daughters nearly lifeless body, she let out a blood curdling scream. The scream that still echoes through my head every single day. The scream of someone who isn't dead, but their life is over.

I set Ellie's body down on the grass, the only blood left in her body dripping slowly out of what was left of her legs. Mom knelt down on her knees, and cradled Ellie in her arms, letting out scream after scream for her dying daughter. For my best friend. For my sister.

Ellie took her final breaths, and died in our mothers arms. I called the nearest police station, and when they arrived, mom was still cradling Ellie. They had to pull her off of her. When I told the police what happened, they didn't believe me. They said that it was probably an animal that had attacked her, and my grieving mind was just making up a story. But I know what happened. I know that what I saw was more real than anything they had ever seen.

Much like losing my father, I had to bury the pain of Ellie's death deep in my head in order to care for my mother. She had lost two thirds of her family members, and she was a shell of her former self. She stopped talking, and stopped doing anything, really. I knew her time on this Earth was going to be short lived, and a couple of years later, my intuition would prove right when one day she went to bed, and never woke up again. She had overdosed on sleeping pills, and the only thing that she wrote in her note addressed to me was that she was ready to be with Dad and Ellie.

I would be lying if I said that throughout my life, the thought of joining my family in the afterlife didn't cross my mind. As much as we have our beliefs, nobody truly knows what's on the other side. I came so close so many times, but fear had always stopped me.

Last week at the age of 74, I got diagnosed with terminal cancer. Tumor in the brain, and nothing they can do about it as it spreads throughout my body. My shotgun lays next to me as I write this out to the world, and after I release it, I will release myself. Instead of letting the cancer slowly wither me away, I will do the thing that I have been so scared to do my entire life, and when I do the words that are always stuck in my head will replay over and over again until the trigger is pulled.

We'll have a tea party tomorrow. I promised Ellie.

Tomorrow never came.