The girl is only six. And yet she hears the call. She sits at the back sliding glass door, her long blonde hair shimmering in the dying sunlight. She waits as the sun slips below the rim of the Rocky Mountains and welcomes the first cool breath of the night. She won’t be alone for long.

Her parents are puzzled. What six year old watches an empty backyard when there is a perfectly good television set not five feet from her? But no matter what they do, when the sun begins to set in the west, nothing will pull her away. She clutches her favorite rag doll to her chest and waits. Her parents shake their heads in disbelief and pour themselves an evening glass of wine as the last rays of the sun fade into twilight.

Finally, the little girl thinks to herself, finally! She counts the seconds as darkness settles over the backyard and all the world has become quiet and restful. She stifles a yawn. With a determined shake of her head, she tries to push the weariness from her. She’s made it this long, what’s a few more seconds.

As if on some unwritten schedule, the bushes begin to shake. The girl scoots as close as she can. A few seconds later, a dark hulking shape emerges from the tree line. It is at least six feet, possibly more, covered in this shaggy black fur, but humanoid. It is so dark that if its cat-like green eyes were not so brilliant, it would have been nearly impossible to separate from the darkness of the night.

The child is not afraid. She eagerly presses her palm to the glass, a smile illuminating her tiny features. The call is strong now and the child presses the other palm to bring her friend closer.

The creature covers the distance of the backyard in only a few strides, kneels down and presses its gigantic palm to the glass as well. It bows its head as the girl mirrors it. Her lips move as if she is singing or something, but no sound escapes her. Pure joy and elation light up her face as the call blocks every thought from her.
“Lilly, dear,” her mother calls as she entered the room to find her daughter staring out at an empty moon-washed backyard. “Lilly, what are you doing?”

“Nothing, Mama,” Lilly replies, turning to face her mother.

“Well, come on, it’s time for bed.”

Lilly scrambles to her feet, tucking her doll under her arm and following her mother into the back room. However, as her mother’s back is turned, Lilly looks back at the sliding glass door to see her friend standing there. She blows it a kiss and waves.

Have you ever felt that someone or something is watching you? Have you caught the flash of jewel-like eyes moving in the darkness? Do you hear the wind call your name as the storm blows in? Do you?

Do you wake in the middle of the night, convinced that your dreams are trying to tell you something? Have you ever seen a dog gaze out into the night, its hackles raised at nothing? Or is it nothing? Is it animal? Human? Or something else all together?

There are forces at work in this world, benign and otherwise, forces and events that few can explain. There are things beyond imagination or rationalization that shape destiny. And there are the few, the chosen, the Gifted that hear and see and know. They hear the call as easily as one hears the wind and thunder. Can you hear it?