Eye of the Falcon

He continued watching them until suddenly he caught a glimpse of something in his periphery. Someone. He swung around toward the sight. But there was nothing there. Only a vast field where the ruins of what may have been a parking lot lay before him. A strong gust of wind came almost out of nowhere, blowing the hood of his jacket over his head. He shivered and saw the sun quickly fading behind a dark cloud cover. What had once been a cloudless and beautiful afternoon transformed into a gray and eerie one. Re shook off a feeling that someone was watching him and checked his watch. Where the heck was the bus? Another gust blew from the opposite direction, this time carrying with it what sounded like his name being whispered directly into his ear. Shaken, he jumped from the bench and spun around, sure that someone would be standing right behind him. Again, there was nothing. The wind was violently blowing all around him now, and bolts of lightning streaked across the sky. "Re." The voice was clear as day this time, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood straight up. He slowly turned toward the sound. A boy was standing on the other side of the road. He wore a long beige shirt that came to his knees, and a braid of jet-black hair was pulled into a knot on the top of his otherwise bald head. The boy didn't move or speak. He was just standing there, staring at Re. Re looked around him in all directions, frantically trying to figure out where this boy could have come from. He swallowed and shakily called out to the boy. "Hey...H..." His voice caught in his throat from fear. "Hey kid!" The wind swirled and howled around the two of them, and the boy continued to watch Re, expressionless. The boy lifted a finger up to his lips as if motioning for Re to be quiet. The winds ceased. The sun returned, and the clouds dispersed. "Wha--.” Re grabbed his bookbag from the ground and started toward the boy. As he stepped forward, the bus pulled to a stop in front of him, blocking his view of the field. Re ran around to the front of the bus and inspected the field. The boy was gone. Re hopped up the bus steps and immediately went to a window in a row near the back, searching for the boy. He would have seen the boy leaving. Wouldn't he? But there was nothing. No one. The boy had vanished as quickly as he had appeared.