Introductions Are Best Done In Person

The following morning I was sitting on the bus, next to Maria on our way to Switzerland's most popular tourist attraction. She seemed tired as all of us did. But it was then I pulled out my camera and handed it to her.

"I saw this last night," I said," what do you think it is?"

Maria looked at my camera with a stumbled expression on her face.

"I don't see anything," she said.

"Right there," I said pointing to the center of the imageShe stared, again for a second and just shook her head.

"Still don't see anything," she said," but whatever you saw was probably a product of your imagination from jet lag or a cosplayer."

" Do people cosplay in Europe," I asked.

Maria shrugged.

I pulled the camera back into view and stared at this image as If I hadn't memorized every detail of it. I couldn't understand how she couldn't see it. Sure it was unfocused and dark out. But it was visible. I shook my head in confusion and disbelief when putting my camera back into its case.

We stopped at many waterfalls and scenery places. New Zeland is a beautiful country, but when you've lived there your whole life, you become numb to it.

"I want to study abroad here," she said, reviewing the photos she took of me by a waterfall.

" That's what we're doing," I said.

"No, but like a year here, or a semester."

I could agree with how beautiful the place was. But with the haunting picture still inside mycamera, I wasn't even sure I could make it the ten days here.

After purchasing dinner I had made another dumb decision without consulting Maria and went straight back into the woods. I had a flashlight this time. Retracing the steps that I had left permanently left in the dirt last night. It was closer to the hotel than 24 hours ago.

"What are you?" I asked this question only to myself as I shunned the night so I had a clear view.

Something I had replaced eventhe higher levels of the weirdness of its facial structure. It was wearing a suit and tie. For a brief moment, I had accepted the fact of a cosplayer when I realized that it was 13 feet tall.

"There is no way that could be a cosplay."

I snapped another picture when all of a sudden my body went into another fit and was violently shaking from the cold. From the number of layers I had on it wasn't a possibility that I was thatcold. My camera from my hands and it felt like I was floating. I didn't believe my eyes or my brain when I saw myself floating six feet off the ground. By the time I expected I had gone full-on crazy, I looked up. The 13-foot creature was hovering over me, not breaking eye contact. I screamed probably loud enough for my grandmother to hear and found myself falling back onto the ground. I groaned from the forceof the impact and didn't come to my scenes when I remembered my situation. I reached for mycamera and ran as fast as my legs could go with me being so dazed. I dared not to look back until I was halfway between the elevator and lobby door. When I turned around nothing was there. But it wasn't enough to convinceme that nothing had happened. I did my best to walk casually into my room. I threw my camera onto my bed and when I saw that the bathroom was free, locked myself in it. I submerged myself into another bath of boiling water and refused to get out until everyone had gone to sleep. I realized I had forgotten to power off my camera. When I looked at the screen I realized there was a photo of me floating in front of the monster.

"Holy Shit."