I have more than a few and as I sit here thinking over the years more are coming to mind. So in an effort to just make a decision, I’m going back to when I was a teen. A sophomore in high school. I'd just met the person who would become my literal BFF (we’ll call her S) and we'd gone to a dance. The homecoming dance or something.

I have a large family so throughout my childhood, I had to share a bedroom with one sibling or another. Until it was finally my turn to move into the basement. My brother had just gone to Navy boot camp and his room was now mine. With this move, the three remaining kids in the house all their own bedrooms so it helped relieve tensions quite a bit.

After the dance, all full of giggles and stories to share. I lead S to the basement door. When I opened it up and there was a large dark, cloaked figure in the staircase reaching for my face. I slammed the door shut, turned to her (she was pale with wide eyes) and said “Let's hang out in the living room”

Neither of us acknowledged what happened for the first hour or so until she asked me what I saw. We hadn’t had the talk yet. You know, the one you have with new people about what they believe so you know if you can tell them things like this without them thinking you’re totally nuts? So I cautiously told her what I’d seen.

She listened and then told me about some things she’d seen and experienced in her life. Apparently, I slammed the door so fast, she didn’t see what was near the stares.
This was our first experience together, but it was far from the last. It was like if we were together something was going to happen. This hooded figure became such a staple in our lives we named him Buddy.

At first, I thought it was like the cloaked figure my sister had seen a few years before. Unlike what she’d experienced, Buddy wasn’t malicious or frightening (after that initial lunge for my face anyway) he was almost a calming presence. If he wasn’t near me I could count on him to be with S. Until he just vanished a couple years later. I don’t know what he was or if we were actually safe with him around but he helped solidify our friendship, and for that, I will be eternally grateful.

Buddy was also just the beginning for me. I knew of all my sister's stories from her time in the basement bedroom but nothing would prepare me for what was to come.

Next time, I'll talk about waking up to my bed shaking so bad I thought it was an earthquake (in NH), getting stuck outside my body and the basement troll.