16.
“In middle school, I always went to a schoolmate’s house, which was on the other side of a big park between my apartment and her neighborhood. I left her house before dark one night, but got lost somehow, and it got dark. I’m black and was in a white neighborhood, so I was afraid to knock on random folks’ doors, and I couldn’t find my friend’s house either. I finally found the park, and it was so dark, with only one streetlight. Then I heard a voice in the back of my head; it wasn’t my voice, it was very loud and masculine, and I believe it was God or a spiritual guide. The voice said ‘Do not go through this park, you will not make it out alive.'”
“I turned around and saw a house (that I swear was never there before). I didn’t even knock, I just burst inside. The man looked at me and told me I looked lost. I just instantly felt safe. I don’t remember his face, and, actually, I never really saw it because his ball cap covered his eyes. He drove me home and said it was a good thing I didn’t go through the park, since it gets dangerous at night. I made him drop me off away from the apartment because my mom would have freaked out about a random guy dropping me off. I ran home, thinking I was gonna be in so much trouble, but my mom just said ‘Oh, I was wondering where you are, dinner’s almost done.”
