A cold embrace

   The black shrivelled hand gripped me by the throat. Tight.I can barely breathe.I can feel the cold coming off this dark claw,its spreading from my neck to my face. I can feel ice in my lungs,it´s burning,the pain. It feels like I am on fire on the inside.Barely breathing,frost comes out as I gasp for air,last breath,while the last of me is frozen solid.It is cold outside but this feels like I am on fire. I am above the ground,suspended,being held.Eyes closing,freezing over,snow forms on my lashes and I let go.

   That was the last thing I remember. I guess I am still alive. Still here. Apparently,I have been found in the middle of the field by a farmer taking his dog out for a walk, this morning. I was just lying there. He took me in. Warmed me up and contacted sheriff. From there, they checked on the missing persons and I fit the description. Before long my parents were at my side and this is how I ended up at home,back in my bed,typing in my diary.I do not even remember what happened and how I got to that field. I have never been in that area and that´s the strangest thing. Scratch that,that thing was the strangest thing. It´s as if it was death itself, but how, and why. People around me think I´m hiding something,they assume I was on drugs or drunk,the usual. Newsflash,I don´t do any of that,and my parents should know. So why do I not remember?Last thing I do remember was finding the weirdest box upstairs in the attic. I went to get the old photo album for a project and I remember the box. I have never seen it,never heard about it and it was just there. Naturally,I wanted to see it closer. What is it and what is inside. Never open an old weird box,side note.As I was getting closer,it was as if the box was whispering. I do not remember what or the voice of the whisper but I think It was whispering my name. Slowly,louder as I was getting closer. I got to the box,opened it,bright light and that is it. That is all I remember.

    I did check on the box after that,I had to know if this is real and what is it but naturally,it was not there any more. Any evidence of my story is gone,of course. Parents,haven´t heard or seen anything like it. A small box with weird markings,sitting in the middle of an attic. Old,worn,fine wood,nope.Unless they know and they are hiding something,something else is going on. That creature,that being,pure darkness,floating,ethereal almost. The hand,that claw,it felt real,the pain and the sting of the cold. I still got the mark and it burns but everyone thinks I might have been attacked while under substance. Perhaps drugged but that´s not the point. I know what happened and I know what I saw. The hollow empty holes where eyes should be. That horrifying howl,the screech as it was holding on tighter and tighter to me. It was as if life itself was being taken away from me. I need to figure this out,I need to find the box. I will look around the house and research history,the creature the abnormalities in the area,the legend and eye witness reports. Something has to come up. Something,it has to.

   Why me?Will it happen again?If it does,I know what is coming but I will not be so lucky,doubt it and I have to be ready,I have to know what I am facing and how to stop it. If I can.The box,memories and the scar is what I got and nobody believes me. I do not like these odds but my odds of survival that moment did not look so good either.