Shadow man(Darrell Case) I was walking in the woods north of my home when I first saw it. Just an impression of a dark shadow running. No sound, no nothing. One second it was there, the next gone. Did I really see something or was it my over active imagination playing tricks on me? I had stayed longer in the north meadow watching the new fawns scamper and play than I intended.
As a writer of fiction, I live most of my time in a made-up world. So, it came to reason I saw something that didn’t exist. My books comprised dark characters. The type of story to be read in relative safety of a comfortable chair or late at night in bed.

Mom and dad bought the ground in 1948 when I was just three years old. Two fields with a strip of forest in between. When I inherited it, I allowed it to grow until trees covered the entire property. Two streams on the west side joined and flowed into a creek on the east. A pleasant place in the daylight. However, the sun had set twenty minutes ago. Already long shadows were dominating the landscape.
Our neighbor to the south had placed trail cams in his woods. On them he captured images of bobcats, cougar and deer. The last time I spoke to him, he said he saw something resembling a man on one camera setup just a quarter mile from his home. He joked bigfoot had come for a visit. I was quite a way from my home and knew I would push dark before I came in sight of the house. I carried my father’s old 38 just for protection from a stray cougar, not that I ever saw one. Crossing the stream, I again caught a glance of something darting from one tree to the next. I hurried on. Soon it would be full dark. The shadow seemed to keep pace with me. Maybe it was my imagination or was something sinister trailing me? It seemed bigger than a normal human being. Thoughts of bigfoot ran through my mind.
The creature, man or beast, darted in and out of the trees. I dared not shoot. What if it was just some kid playing a game? Cold sweat broke out on my forehead. My palms felt clammy. My heart beat roared in my ears. Easing dad’s .38 out of the holster, I hurried on. If it came down to it, I would shoot in the ground or in the air. Ahead of me, I could see the clearing. I ran. The shadow matched my stride.

Entering my lawn, I breathed a sigh of relief. The security light clicked on. Inside my house, I locked the front door, rushing to lock all the rest of the doors and windows. Looking out, I saw nothing on the lawn or beyond. Maybe it was in the shadows of the shed watching me. I lay dad’s pistol in easy reach. For now, I was safe.
Setting down, I made a salad for dinner. As I was eating, I had to chuckle at myself for fearing the shadows in the woods. I had been walking through these woods all my life.

Having missed the news at six, I clicked on the TV at 10. I stared at the screen. With trembling fingers, I turned up the volume. The talking head said, “Having received a tip, state police searched the forest just south of the county line. John Mackano, a convicted murder, was apprehended just after sunset this evening.”
There, handcuffed and being put into a state police cruiser, was my shadow man.

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