The scary bench (legend story)

I wasn't going to post this but it's been sitting in my head for a while so.

This was a hot summer night. I went to one of those evening high schools where classes run late, so I biked 40 minutes each way every day. Class ended at 9pm like usual, then I had kendo club after that, so I was at school until 10:30. On the way out my friend was like 'hey I'm kinda hungry, wanna grab food?' so we did.

And honestly, looking back, that's around when things started feeling... off.

We ate until 11, said bye, and I started biking home alone. Somewhere in the middle of the ride this wave of dizziness just HIT me out of nowhere. I pulled over and sat on a bench in a nearby park. Just... sat there, kind of zoned out. After maybe 10 minutes I felt okay again, got back on my bike.

Then the dizziness came back.

The road was really dark and I knew the later it got the scarier it would be, so I just kept pedaling. Pushed through it.

About 20 minutes from home there's a barbershop. Closed obviously, it was past midnight. As I rode past it, I caught my reflection in the shop window. Something looked wrong but I couldn't place it, so I kept going.

Then I passed a pharmacy.

I looked at the reflection in that window and I SAW IT.

There was an old woman sitting on my bike rack. Behind me. Her arms were wrapped around my waist.

I looked down at my actual waist. Nothing there. No hands. Nothing.

Looked back at the window. She was still there.

I don't really remember the rest of the ride home. I got back, checked the bike rack again. Empty. Went inside and my mom immediately started yelling at me, 'why are you coming home so late, it's already 3am!!'

3am.

I sat on that bench for 10 minutes. That's what I remembered. But somehow it was 3 in the morning.

So what was I doing in that dark empty park for hours.

I genuinely could not sleep that night. kept thinking about the old woman. wondering if she followed me home.