The Encounter

It was as if I were dreaming. A soft, surreal haze enveloped me as I opened my eyes, only to find myself surrounded by a group of alien Grays.

Their large, unblinking eyes hovered above me like something out of a nightmare. Before I could process what was happening, I felt a sharp pinch at the back of my left knee.

The sudden pain jolted me awake, so I inspected the area and found a small bump, like a bug bite. I shrugged it off as a half-remembered dream, rolled over, and fell asleep.

Years passed, and life moved on. My wife and I had just moved into a new apartment, still in the midst of unpacking boxes and settling in.

She suggested grabbing fast food for dinner one evening, and I happily agreed. I heard the front door close and her head down the stairs, footsteps fading into the quiet night.

Walking into the bathroom, I heard the front door open again, far sooner than expected.

“What’s the matter? Did you forget something?” I called out.

As I returned to the hallway, she stood there with a bag of burgers and a pair of sodas in a holder. Confused about how she’d managed to get the food so quickly, I started to ask, but before I could finish, she cut me off.

“You’re bleeding,” she said, her voice edged with concern.

I looked down to see a dark red stain spreading across the left leg of my sweatpants. Puzzled, I pulled them down to my ankles. There, at the front of my knee, was a small wound, oozing blood.

Together, we leaned closer. A tiny, dark object, no larger than a grain of rice, was slowly pushing its way out of the wound. My wife, instinctively using her fingertips, plucked it free. She held it out, placing the mysterious object in my hand.

“What is it?” we wondered aloud, but before we could form a theory, the object disintegrated into fine dust, slipping through my fingers as though it had never existed.

The wound stopped bleeding almost immediately, and within two days, it had nearly healed, leaving no trace of its presence—except for the lingering question: what had just happened?