Doug slowly strolled down Lighthouse St, past the lighthouse and on towards the lakefront.  Dusk was settling in quickly, the overcast sky obscuring whatever beauty the sunset was unfolding.  This section of Erie had a bit of a reputation for unusual happenings, and the approach of Halloween lent a spooky air to the shadows.  Doug decided to cut through the bushes and head for the beach.  As he left Lakefront Dr. a motion from the corner of his eye caught his attention.

A woman?  Was that it?  It’s getting dark, my eye are playing tricks.  I would swear it was a woman in a long dress.  She was only there for a second.

Doug stepped from the bushes onto the beach.  The lake was quiet, gentle waves slowly lapping onto the sand.  There she is!  Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of her again.  Tall, jet black hair, a long dark purple dress.  Before he could even blink, she was gone again.  The hair on the back of his neck began to rise.  Doug knew this was not someone playing hide&seek.  He had a very uneasy feeling about this.  Doug looked down the beach to the west, no one was on the beach, he looked east, again, no one.  As he turned to look back down the beach, she was there.  Standing right next to him, well within reach, nothing but the sound of her breathing and her unwavering gaze.

She studied this mortal.  She could sense there was nothing special about him; yet, he also was something other than ordinary.  She could not quite read him.  When she thought she could taste his fear, it was gone, replaced by something else.  When she entered into his mind, it was a maelstrom of conflicting ideas, emotions, images, and noise.  As she studied the man, he drew even closer to her.

“You’re late.  Where have you been?”

She was shocked.  Seldom had she ever been spoken to, let alone with a confrontational tone.  This mortal had no idea who or what she was, yet he chose to speak to her as a familiar.  This could be interesting.  Engaging in conversation was a bit foreign to her.  She decided to speak.

“What are you waiting for?”

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“I await an emissary of The Elder Gods”

Doug could tell this was getting really, really strange.  The woman had none of the usual vibes a regular woman gives off.  Her vanishing/appearing act was not something from Penn & Teller.  Doug had spent plenty of time over the years studying paranormal activities.  He had even dabbled in the Black Arts under the tutelage of an old Kabbalist.  Doug had quickly figured out he was not dealing with something of this world. 

“Who are these ‘Elder Gods’ of whom you speak?” she asked.

“They are the rulers of the world that was, and the world that is yet to be.  They are known to all who have lived and all who have yet to live.  From what realm do you come, that you do not know them?”

She was growing tired of speaking; it was not her usual way of dealing with mortals.  It sapped her energy and drained her will.  She decided to work toward bringing this to an end.  She could feel the mortal had an incredibly strong will, and she was not sure what to make of these other beings he alluded to.

“I come from this realm and every other realm.  I come to taste your life force, if I may.  I do not come to destroy you or even hurt you.  I sense you are defensive.  I have no power or ability or desire to harm you.  A taste of life force sustains me for a great time.  I want nothing else.  I ask for nothing else.”

For the first time in their encounter he looked into her eyes.  Deep pools of loneliness looked back.  In her eyes he could see ages of aloneness and isolation.  He could sense no negative feelings or feelings of danger.  He felt his heart moved by this woman.  He gently reached out and brought his lips to hers.  As their lips touched he felt warmth and a tingle fill his mouth.  He felt the butterflies in his tummy he had not felt in years.  It seemed he could feel something moving from him to her. 

She gently broke off their kiss.  She looked into his eyes and softly said “Thank you.”

She stepped back a couple steps, and faded into nothingness, her eyes locked on him until the end.

Doug dropped down onto the sand, drained by what had just happened.  He was disappointed in himself for assuming in the beginning he was going to be dealing with some kind of monster.  Trotting out his H.P. Lovecraft mythos was so dumb.  She was not a threat, not a monster, not a danger.  She was a being with a small need.  Doug himself was the one on the verge of being a monster.  He looked at the spot in the sand where she last stood.  Will their paths ever cross again?  Doug rose and started the long walk home.