Are you afraid of the dark?

[Acies]

I used to, when I was younger. But never at home; I have since I can remember been sleeping in total darkness.

However, there is a forrest nearby where I live, and you can earn a couple of minutes by walking through it rather than walking around it. In the winter that forrest becomes so pitch black that you can hold out your hand in front of your face and not see it.

A younger me is walking through that forrest while it is pitch black. Orientation is made through feeling the difference between walking on the path (slightly softer) and walking beside it (hard frozen ground). I suddenly image that I could potentially walk straight into a hobo with a knife (every kid has a healthy fear of hobos? :] ) and he'd gut me. As I imagine that I think I can hear something rustling and I grow a little more nervous, so I set my mind on hearing any potential noises.

"WRAFF!". A shrill bark. My heart skips two beats. A dog and its owner has in the pitch black also been walking through the forrest. It turns out the dog has decided to walk up beside my feet and bark at me.


Edit: Added section on my fears of hobos with knifes ~

I am even younger. Probably seven years old(eight ?). Me and my friend have been staying longer after school playing, and the clock is after five in the afternoon. This is during the beginning of winter so it has become quite dark already.

As we are walking home a man is walking fifty meters behind us. He's wearing a large trenchcoat. My friend looks back at him and says to me "I thought I saw something glint in his hand." "Glint?" I say. "Could it potentially be a knife?". "Maybe" he responds. As both of us discuss it further we grow fearful and decide to walk faster, deviating from our original path home in case we need to hide.

As we walk faster, the man behind us walks faster. "He's after us!" we whisper and start to run. As we turn a corner we see two girls sitting on a large rocky hill by the walking path. With a more mature perspective those girls were probably 14-15, sneaking out to try alcohol in a secluded place. We climb up the hill and hide behind some trees on it.

The man turns around the corner. As he sees the girls he asks:
"Have you seen two small boys walking by?"
"No" they answer.

After the man has left we come out of hiding. What he really wanted I'll never know, but better safe than sorry :]