Ever since I was a little girl, I have heard stories of this creature so terrifying that it is simply known as The Beast. It’s a story that has sometimes been used to keep Children in line. It’s a tale to tell by the campfire... your classic boogeyman. The Beast is said to have once been a man, a man who was privileged to live with God himself. One day he became jealous of God. He considered himself to be just as powerful as God, if not more than. When God felt this man’s jealousness, He banished him from the Kingdom. The tale goes on to say that over the years as this man’s jealousy overcame him; he started to transform into a hideous beast.

The true name of The Beast was lost years ago. No one, not even the eldest in the village, is old enough to remember his name, which might be a good thing. We sure don’t want anyone calling on The Beast to appear! The Beast is depicted as nothing but a shadow, sometimes with red eyes that burn like fire. My village has pictures of The Beast in the Room of Knowledge, along with the village’s history. No one knew who put the pictures there. One day they just appeared. Some had said it was a prank. Anyway, if their origin has ever been known, it has long since been forgotten.

There has always been something about this tale that puzzles me. Whenever someone mentions it, their eyes reveal a deep fear, and beads of sweat start to form on their brow. Why is it that this ghost story haunts the villagers so terrifyingly if it is just a story? I have always believed that there's got to be more to this tale than what people are letting on.

So, since I was a little girl, I have searched for clues that prove The Beast is more than just a legend. How can a ‘figment of someone’s imagination’ last through hundreds of generations and still bring forth so much fear? Little did I know that I was soon going to have answers to some of my wonderings.

I have always known that I have been different from the rest of the village kids. I enjoyed spending my time with the elders and listening to their tales for hours on end, and everyone else spent their time outside playing with the other kids their age. I didn’t act like the rest of the other kids either, I was quiet and rarely spoke, unless if it was to ask a question. I was always curious to hear more about The Beast. When the others were simply satisfied with made-up tales, I wanted to know the truth.

One day I was walking around the forest that borders our village. Most of the other kids were always afraid of the forest, because of the tales of people never returning once they ventured in. I always saw the forest as a mystery that needed to be solved and did not let my fear keep me from going in. This particular day I had ventured further into the woods than I had ever before. I soon found myself in the darkest part of the forest. I stood still there for a long time. I could feel something strange, the air seemed ‘off’. Then I realized, there was not a single sound to be heard. The trees no longer whispered to one another, not a single creature, not a deer or bird or insect, seemed to walk the ground for as far as the eye could see. The sun no longer flittered between the leaves. There was an unnatural stillness, an unnerving silence. That’s when I saw it... out of the corner of my eye, a strange movement. There was a shadow just behind the trees. How could there be a shadow without light? I thought it strange at the time, Now, I know better. After a few moments of nothing I began to wonder if my eyes simply played tricks on me, then I saw it again. This time it was closer, and there was no mistaking the eyes that now stared back at me, blazing red eyes. The sight of those eyes would forever be burned into my retinas. I don’t know how long I stared, uncontrollably, into those eyes. I remember feeling more fear than I had ever before felt, and as the fear overcame me, I blacked out.

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A villager found me on the border of the forest and brought me to my parent’s hut. I awoke to a terrifying scream that pierced the air like a blade and could cause one’s ears to bleed. It was not until I felt my mother's embrace and heard her soft tones, that I realized it was I who screamed that horrible scream. I slowly opened my eyes, not wanting to face whatever I would see, despite knowing it was my mother who was there, but it didn’t matter, for when I opened them I could see nothing. I had gone completely blind. My mother wept.

When things had settled down a bit, and my mother was finally able to keep back her tears, I was told of what happened. The villagers claimed that when they found me, I had just walked out of the forest and collapsed. They say my face was contorted in such a way it made some of the younger children cry. It seemed to them that I had seen an evil ghost. They had no idea just how close they were to the truth.

I told them what happened in the deepest part of the forest. No one seemed to believe me. They all thought I must have hit my head when I fell, or I was simply making it up to scare them. Despite their verbal expression of disbelief, I could still hear the fear in their voices. The easiest thing for me to have done was to believe what they said. Surely I had hit my head, and it caused me to have hallucinations. But those eyes were still there, etched into my mind forever. I knew better than to believe it was all just a trick of the mind.

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That was just five years ago. I soon was able to find my way around the village without help, much to the relief of everyone else. No one wanted to help me. They thought I was cursed for having gone so deep in the forest. It’s amazing how quickly they so willingly believe in a curse, but refuse to believe that I saw The Beast. I can’t blame them, too much, though. I, too, would rather believe that I’m cursed, and what I saw was just an illusion. If not for the eyes staring back at me all the time, keeping me awake at night, I would be able to do just that. It doesn’t help that I occasionally see these strange shapes floating across my vision. Whenever I try and focus in on one, they disappear. I haven’t told anyone of this. I don’t want my parents to worry any more than they do, and I don’t think I could handle being shunned anymore than I have been and possibly banished from my village.

I take each day one at a time, forever hoping that these figures and those ‘horrible, horrible’ eyes go away.

“Shara?” I was startled to hear my name spoken in anything above a whisper. I looked up to see Galab staring down at me. Wait, I can see you. How...? That’s impossible, I thought to myself. I dared not say anything.

“Shara? Why don’t you answer?”

“Because you’re dead.”

Galab had been a childhood friend. He was the only one that could get me to talk for hours on end. When it was just the two of us, he would become the quiet one. He always listened to my theories about The Beast, and anything else that held my attention at the time. He was the only true friend I had in the village.

One day we were out by the river talking when he decided to go for a swim. I decided just to watch and sit on the bank. He hadn’t gotten far when a current took him. I couldn’t get to him fast enough. When I pulled him out, water had already filled his lungs. There was nothing I could do, but watch the color and warmth slowly drain from his body. That’s another reason why the village is so quick to believe I’m cursed. I was unable to save my best friend.

Now, he stood before me in ‘my mind’s eye.' Maybe the village is right, and I must be hallucinating.

“Shara, listen to me. I don’t have much time. There’s a stranger coming to the village. I can’t tell when, but when He does, welcome Him into your home. When He leaves, go with Him. Only He can protect you against The Beast.”

“Wait! What do you mean? How is it that I see you? What...”

And with that Galab was gone. I had not realized until too late, that the image of The Beast’s eyes had been replaced with that of Galab. I crumpled to the ground in a fresh fit of horror as the eyes of The Beast came back. Luckily, there seemed to be no one nearby to witness my convulsions and tears.