It’s been a while since I printed a reader submitted story, but I’ve got a good one for you today. This one sent a shiver or two down my spine, so be prepared to be creeped out.
One afternoon, my wife and I were on the way home from a friend’s cookout when she wanted to stop to grab something for dinner. One of my favorite songs came on the radio as we parked, and soon I found myself sitting in my car in a bustling parking lot waiting for my wife, blaring my radio and people watching. Little did I know that this mundane moment would soon spiral into the weirdest experience I’ve ever had.
We had stopped at Market Basket, a local grocery store, in a shopping center that contained a few other small stores. My gaze wandered across the rows of stores, and something peculiar caught my eye—a storefront labeled “DOTS.” Memories flooded back to me. DOTS had been a clothing store that my wife had frequented before we were married, but it had closed its doors for good, or so I thought, about 15 or 20 years prior. Yet here it stood, looking abandoned, but still with the DOTS sign displayed over the glass storefront.
I wondered for a moment why they would keep this sign up, but soon, the glass door opened and a young woman stepped out. Soon, a middle aged couple approached and entered the store followed by an older woman. Curiosity piqued, I observed as a number of people flowed in and out of the store with ease. Could it be that DOTS had been resurrected or had maybe been replaced by another store? My mind swirled with possibilities as I watched the steady stream of patrons.
Driven by a sudden urge to investigate, I left the comfort of my car and made my way to the storefront. The sight that greeted me inside was eerie—a desolate space with shattered glass strewn across the floor. Despite its abandoned appearance, the door was unlocked, inviting me to explore further.
I ventured into the darkened, empty store, my footsteps echoing in the silence. I called out, “Hello?”, but was answered with echoing silence, despite having seen over a dozen people enter the door without leaving. I combed through the front area, the back room, and even the bathroom, but found nothing but emptiness and decay. Unease gnawed at me as I quickened my pace, eager to escape the eerie atmosphere.
As I reached for the door handle, relief washed over me as it swung open effortlessly. But my relief was short-lived as I stepped outside and turned back to face the store. Looking down, I could see a padlock securing the door from the other side. Even though I had been inside not five seconds before, it was now locked tight.
A chill ran down my spine as I retreated to the safety of my car, my mind reeling with unanswered questions. I tried to shake off the unease that gripped me, but the image of the locked door lingered in my thoughts like a haunting specter.
Minutes ticked by, each one stretching into an eternity as I waited for my wife’s return. My eyes remained fixed on the mysterious storefront, a silent sentinel in the dimming light of dusk.
And then, like a scene from a surreal nightmare, the door of DOTS creaked open once again, and there she was—my wife, stepping out into the fading daylight. I couldn’t contain my bewilderment as she approached the car, her expression unchanged.
“How did you get into DOTS?” I blurted out, my voice trembling with disbelief. But she remained silent, offering no explanation as she settled into the passenger seat and stared blankly ahead.
Confusion clouded my senses as I turned to the storefront, only to see my wife emerging from the grocery store, her arms laden with bags of groceries. My heart pounded in my chest as I realized the impossibility of the situation unfolding before me. I turned to the passenger’s seat. It was now empty.
My mind struggled to comprehend what was happening. As my wife opened the door and took her rightful place, the truth dawned on me—a surreal encounter that defied logic and reason, leaving me grappling with the unsettling mysteries of the universe.
Frank McGuinness
When I first that one I got goosebumps, but then again it is pretty cold in our offices. If you have a story you would like to submit for publication on our site, please email us at [email protected] and we’ll take a look at it. I do some editing to ensure it’s up to our standards and to make myself feel worthy of a paycheck, but I do not change anything pertinent to the story as a whole. Thanks for reading!
