The first time I saw him I was visiting my grandfather in the hospital. As I turned the corner and entered the hallway where my grandfather’s room was located, I saw a man in an all black suit leaving his room. He was extremely pale with charcoal gray eyes, completely bald, and must have been almost seven feet tall. His suit appeared to be tailored and looked like it must have cost more than I make in a month. He noticed me staring and as we passed he gave me a polite smile and nod. All I could do in my confusion was nod back and continue into the hospital room. I visited my grandfather every week and had never seen him have any other visitors. I was planning on asking my grandfather about him as soon as I entered the room, but for some reason it completely slipped my mind.
My grandfather and I talked for half an hour about what I had been up to and how work was going. He was very sick and didn’t have much time left, but he liked to act like everything was normal. I guess everyone deals with their own mortality in their own way. As I was getting up to leave I remembered the pale man and asked, “oh by the way, who was that man who was visiting you before I came? The really tall guy?” For an instant, my grandfather had a look I had never seen before. A mix of sorrow, relief, and fear. Then it was gone. He grabbed my hand and smiled, “oh just an old friend. You didn’t think you were my only friend did you?” He laughed and patted my hand. I smiled back and we said our goodbyes. On my way out the pale man slipped out of my mind again.
I got the call the next morning that my grandfather had passed away. I was devastated, but I knew it had been coming. I didn’t think of the tall, pale man at all. It was not until months later that I saw him again.
I usually take the bus to work in the morning as it allows me to get some work done on the commute. The extra thirty minutes usually allows me to leave a bit earlier on Fridays, so the usual inconveniences of public transportation are outweighed by the longer weekends. I never pay much attention to the other people because I am glued to my laptop, so I didn’t notice him until I got off the bus. As the bua drove away I happened to glance up and saw him sitting in the back seat by himself. He was wearing what appeared to be the same suit. I felt a cold chill down my spine as the memory of him visiting my grandfather came flooding back. Clutching my laptop bag I stared at him and, again, he gave me a polite smile and a nod and then turned away as the bus sped along its route. I stood motionless, an unexplainable fear rushed through me as I watched the bus make a right turn down 4th street to its next stop. My body shivered and then, just as in the hospital, he completely slipped out of my mind.
At lunch I checked the news on my phone and in the local breaking news section I saw the headline, “Out of Control Bus Kills 27.” I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest as my fears were confirmed, it was the bus I take every morning. The smiling face of the pale man flashed in my head and I ran to the bathroom. I threw up my lunch and remembered my grandfather and the pale man. It was like I was beginning to understand something about reality for the first time. And then, when I stopped throwing up, I forgot. It must had been bad tuna salad from the office kitchen mixed with the news about my bus. I told my manager and took a cab home. The bus accident had shaken me I thought. I need a few days and I’ll be better. I was right. Until fifteen minutes ago.
I am waiting at the greyhound station. It’s the first day of my vacation and I am going to visit my parents upstate. I was scrolling on here, relaxing, bored, not thinking about work when a man sat down next to me and I swear it felt like the tempature dropped ten degrees. I shivered and looked up. It was the pale man. He was in his black suit, facing forward with a placid look on his face. Like nothing could ever bother him. Then he turned to me and smiled that polite, terrifying smile at me. I had heard the expression that someone had dead eyes before, but I didn’t know what it meant until that second. Same with the expression frozen in fear. I couldn’t move a muscle, not even my eyes. I stared into his lifeless eyes for what felt like hours but it must have been seconds. It took all my power to swallow and stammer, “wh-who arr-re you?”
He looked away and chuckled, patted me on the leg as he stood up and straightened his impossibly long frame. He then turned to look directly at me, and with that smile and those dead eyes said with a calm that I have never heard another human speak with, “I’m just a friend. I’ll be seeing you around. Just remember, live every moment like its your last.” He gave me a wink, turned, and walked off to presumably board another bus. I am still in shock. I am writing this down and posting it here before I forget again. I don’t think I’m crazy. I hope I never see the pale man again.