The Mask

One night my husband was working an overnight shift, and I returned home after visiting family. I stopped for drinks, chocolate, and a treat for my dog. As I left the shop, I had a powerful feeling that someone was outside with me.

A short distance away stood a girl in a cute dress wearing a white horse mask. We stared at each other before I got into my car and pulled away, nearly hitting a light pole as I checked the back seat for danger.

A few minutes later I was home, giving my dog a treat, eating chocolate, and watching television. Suddenly my dog ran toward the back porch, barking, growling, and attacking the window. I followed and stopped dead.

Standing at the window was the horse mask.

We stared at each other again. I looked toward the back door and wondered whether it was locked. The horse mask looked toward the door. Slowly I walked toward it, and the masked person moved too. We both reached for the handle. It was locked.

The horse mask glanced behind her. For the first time I looked across the yard and saw a man wearing a horse mask too. I decided to call the police. I had brought my belongings inside but had left my phone in the car, which was in the dark garage.

I opened the door to the garage and tried to open the car door, but it was locked and I did not have the keys. I crept back into the house. My dog was no longer visible, and I could not see either mask from the kitchen window. I grabbed my keys, retrieved the phone, and called the sheriff. I explained that I had been followed home and was alone.

The dispatcher asked whether the people were still outside. I checked the windows room by room. Nothing appeared to be there until I reached the front window. The pair stood nearby holding hands and staring at the house. I was crying while speaking with the dispatcher. As I stood there, clearly on the phone, the girl waved. Then they walked hand in hand away and disappeared.

The officers arrived and found nothing. They suggested the people may have followed me in a car and were probably just kids playing a prank. My dog stayed hidden for the rest of the night, and I sat awake listening to the silence until my husband came home.