I never liked driving at night, but boy, after that, I have done everything I can to avoid it. I was on the road back home to… oh, I think it was your cousin’s baby shower? As I’m sure you’ve gathered, it was late at night. I had to go to the bathroom, so I pulled off an exit into some little town.

I drove down their main road looking for a gas station (this was before smartphones), and while I expected it to be quiet, I didn’t expect it to be this quiet, you know. And then, I came across a car stopped in the middle of the road with its lights on. I pulled up to the side to see if they needed help or something, but there was nobody in the driver’s seat. I kept driving, a bit confused.

I did end up finding the gas station. As I went in to use the bathroom, I realized I was completely alone in there- no clerk, no nothin’. After the bathroom, I planned to top up my tank and buy a snack, but the car thing combined with the no clerk thing kinda spooked me, so I decided to just leave.

But, as I walked out to my car, something caught my eye, up in the sky: It looked like someone was… standing in the sky. Like, a hundred feet off the ground, standing in the air like it was the ground. And then I realized there wasn’t just one person: there were hundreds, all above the town, all standing, all arranged in a grid. I guess my eyes were too focused on the road to see them before?… And then, I looked closer, and I swear, they were all… pointing. They had their arms raised, and were pointing at the moon.

Jesus Christ, I have never gotten into the car and drove so fast. I didn’t want whatever happened to them to happen to me, y’know.

I know you’ve asked why I always take the long way when driving back home. That’s why.