I know what I saw.

I've said before that I believe places can be "haunted" - still burdened with an imprint of something/one from the past, for whatever reason. And one of these days, I'll get around  to describing the experiences that have led me and others to believe there is a... "something" in my life, of supernatural origin. [I call it a ghost because that's just easier to say/explain.] But I don't believe that "disembodied spirits" are common as the media would have us believe - especially at this time of year. Nor do I go looking for them - or even expect them; I've trooped through many cemeteries, the only living soul in sight, and only once ever felt anything remotely "off". For all I know, I've trod right through a ghost, busy futzing with my camera - but more than likely, I've not done or been near any such thing.

Until yesterday.

Yesterday dawned unnaturally warm [yay!] and nasty grey/damp [not-so-yay]. I had to be somewhere at 10:00, after which I had a bunch of things I needed to get done around the apartment, so, despite the grey, I decided to at least cruise around a bit to see if there was anything worth photographing. On a hunch, I decided to check out this path that I photographed almost exactly a year earlier, and the difference was pretty amazing.



I didn't stay long, and didn't follow the path any further, in part because there was someone sitting on the bench to the left, smoking a cigarette. I figured that, having chosen to sit there, tucked away from the world, they must have really wanted privacy. In fact, I felt a little guilty taking the shots that I did, and didn't want them to think I was spying on them or otherwise being rude, even though I could barely see them.  Due to where I was standing, the position of the lamppost, and the untamed plant life this year, the bench was partially blocked; all I could see was their lap and their hand/arm occasionally raising and lowering a cigarette. So I shot a couple quick frames and left.

So, imagine my surprise a couple hours later, when I opened the files for editing and found that bench was only slightly blocked... and empty:

It didn't make sense - something had been blocking my view of that bench. And I'd swear on any book you like that I saw someone sitting there, smoking a cigarette. But when the shutter opened and closed, whoever it was had gone. But where? Left? I'd have easily seen them walking down the path. Right? They'd have walked right toward me. Forward? A fence, followed immediately by Bass River. Back? Dense, unmanageable undergrowth. No, whoever I saw didn't just suddenly get up and walk away. No, it's as if - despite what I saw - there was never anyone there.