Walking Behind Me

A year ago, on my way home, the street was so dark. The street lamp posts were not lit up. Though I knew it seemed dangerous I decided to walk going home. When I was two blocks away from our house, I heard quiet tiny footsteps behind me. I turned around to check if somebody was there but I was surprised because no one was there.

Nevertheless, I kept on walking till I heard a small cry along the street. A cry which seemed coming from a baby. I looked around to see if there was an abandoned baby or child in the middle of the night. I still cannot found a single baby. Even the houses nearby did not bother to stop the baby from crying, if ever they have one. The dogs in the neighborhood suddenly bark aimlessly. My skin experienced chills though there was no presence of wind that night. Neither the branches of the trees nor the leaves of the bushes did not dance if there was a wind in sight. When I had a feeling that this was not good, I ran. Then a baby voice was heard, “Ma---- mama!” Out in the dark there was someone calling me ‘Mama’.

Damn! How come? I am certified single since birth, no baby at all. I paused for a while and gathered my courage. Out of bravery, I leaned back there was a tiny being full of blood standing before me. The tiny being had a small footsteps. The head was somewhat big; undeveloped eyes, arms and feet. The being’s ears were malformed too. My eyes opened wide as my nerves could not undermine if this is real or unreal. The fetus was reaching out for me looked like the poor being wanted to be carried off. Before the month old fetus jump on me, my brain told my legs to run fast, which I did.

Upon arriving in our gate, I rang the doorbell as if my pointer finger was glued to it. I shouted “Open the gate! Quick!” My mother hurriedly opened the gate and she was startled why I am panting. She touched my face, shoulders and arms. My sweats were cold as ice.

“What happened? Why are you screaming?” my mother asked in a sleepy—shocked --- irritated voice.

I did not reply as my tongue retreated at the back of my throat. She let me in and Mom screamed when she saw my back. I also screamed in freight. Then everyone in our family woke up and  irritated because we disturb their sweet dreams. When they saw my back they were stunned. Their eyes opened wide. I froze from where I stand.  “Why all of you are looking at me like that?” I murmured out of my palpitation.

All of them pointed at my back, I turned around and moved my right hand so that I could partially see my back. Shock! There were tiny footprints marked in bloodstain. Fear caught my conscious mind. I immediately thrown my bag at the ground and removed my blouse, good thing I had an inner shirt to cover my upper body. I gazed at the back part of my blouse, indeed tiny blood stained footsteps were marked. My legs lost its’ gait. I fell on my knees. My mom got my shoulder and the rest of my family helped me to get inside the house.

The following morning, a middle aged female neighbor pay a visit to our house. She heard what happened to me last night. She said that two years ago before we moved in our house. There was a teen-age girl who threw a shoe box in the same street where I happened to passed by last night. The shoe box was covered with blood. They discovered it around afternoon when her grandson’s dog sniffed on the box. When the authorities checked the box, they horrifically discovered the body of a five month old fetus covered with blood. From then onwards, the part of that street was said to be hunted by the fetus. The common individuals who experienced the encounter were all females.

So when the fetus called me ‘Mama’ was a coincidence. The incidence gave me a hollow emotions. My subconscious mind told me to have a pity on the child and crash the unmerciful mother who done that to a defenseless baby. Around ten in the morning, my mom and I went back to the spot where I encountered the fetus. We light up one candle and offered a prayer. When the prayer was over, a young boy approached us.

“What are you doing here? Why did you light up a candle?” he asked.

“This is for the fetus who was thrown here years ago. May the child follow the light to give him peace.” I replied.

The boy just smiled. Before my mother and I left the area, the boy called “Mama!” We turned around, the boy waved at us and said, “Though you are not my mother, thank you anyway for your  prayers.” Then the boy disappeared from our sight. No one in the community knew the boy.  Since then the tiny voice nor the silent footsteps were no longer heard or seen.