How's your gangrene?"

"

I want to tell you a story that happened to me nine years ago—I was 19 at the time. I came home from work tired after a shift change, it was around 12 noon (I worked as a sales assistant at a store, so I was on my feet all day). I decided to lie down and rest, not sleep, but just lie down. I lay down on the sofa in my room. Incidentally, I had a chair next to the sofa (near my head), and right behind the chair was a window that looked out onto the balcony. The entrance to the balcony was in another room.

So, no more than ten seconds had passed since I lay down, when suddenly, a translucent boy and girl appeared on the carpet in the middle of the room (I could see the wall in my room through them). The girl was wearing a red dress, about five or six years old. They were playing with each other, and I had a feeling they were brother and sister. Then the girl ran through the wall past me and the chair, and the boy started shouting at her: “Pili, Pili! Look, he’s already here!” Then he said, turning to me: “He likes you, he loves you.” And then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a man sitting on the chair. I was so terrified I couldn’t even move or turn my head, so all I could see was his feet. I tried to scream, but it was no use—all I heard was my own moaning, and I couldn’t open my mouth. But inside I had a distinct feeling that this man was already dead. He leaned towards me so I could see his face, since I couldn’t turn my head, and he knew it. And I saw that half of his face was missing, and in its place was a bloody mess... And again, I don’t know where it came from, but I instantly realized he’d died in a car accident. Then he said: “Just don’t be afraid. How’s your gangrene?” Oh, God, knock on wood, nothing like that has ever happened to me!

Somehow, with great difficulty (perhaps fear gave me strength), I managed to jump up from the couch and run out into the hallway. I was home alone with my mother at the time, so I ran to her to tell her everything. I should note that my parents' bedroom is visible from our hallway, and their couch is opposite the entrance—meaning, without entering the room, you can see if one of them is sleeping on the couch. So I ran out into the hallway and saw that my mother was asleep. I didn't wake her. I went back to my room—no one was there anymore. I lay down again and fell asleep.

Waking up around four o'clock, I hurried to my mother. I called her into the room to show her how it all happened. I was still in a state of shock and told her everything in one breath. A curious detail: as soon as I finished telling her, someone rang the doorbell. Mom went to see who had arrived, but there was no one at the door.

Mom believed me. Besides, she said she wasn't even home at the time—she'd been shopping and had only just arrived!

That's the story. I don't know what it was. By the way, when that man was sitting on the chair, I clearly realized he was some distant relative of mine, who had been alive but had died long ago. Thank God, nothing like that has ever happened to me again...