Cultural
Background
Storyteller's Cabin
He turned around and saw that his intuition was right. For he could see a figure in the distance, walking toward him along the edge of the water with a determined pace.
Phil turned back toward home, but found himself stopping again a minute or so later and looking over his shoulder. The shadowy figure behind him was closer now, walking at the same relentless pace. Phil thought he looked like a man of medium build, covered in gray from head to toe, his arms swinging at his sides.
An uneasy feeling gripped Phil. He walked a bit faster toward his home. But as he looked back, he saw that the shadow figure had also picked up the pace, moving closer and closer toward him. The mist swirled around them and made it hard for Phil to make out any of the man's features. Was he a local fisherman? A jogger? A mugger?
The faster Phil walked, the faster the shadow figure followed. Phil's heart began to race. His home was still a great distance away. He thought about running, then immediately felt foolish in even thinking about it. He was a big city newspaperman now, after all, and he dealt with crime on a daily basis.
With equal parts adrenaline and fear, Phil whirled around to confront the man. But the shadow figure had stopped on top of a sand dune, and was looking out over the agitated waters. Then, to Phil's utter amazement, the man slowly turned and looked in his direction - only to disappear into the mist!
Phil couldn't believe his eyes. He ran back to the dunes and searched for what seemed like hours, yet found no sign of the mysterious man. But something else made his blood run cold. For when Phil retraced his steps, he could only find one pair of footprints walking up the beach - his own.
