The Park

Tony and I visited the park yesterday. We tried a few times, going at different points in the day and on into the evening to see if there would be any differences. The strange thing was...I think there was a difference, which doesn't bode well for the people in this area.

When we first arrived in the morning, there obviously weren't many people there. Maybe a few families who were simply walking around or taking a hike as the park has a playground, fields to play sports in, a cement path for people to jog on, and then several different trails to take hikes. It seems to be the perfect hunting ground for this monster. The families we saw did not seem troubled by anything, and did not stick around for long. So we left and went back to the house to eat some brunch before we headed out again. This time there were many more people, but still not as much due to school for older kids and work for most parents still in session during the time we arrived. But younger children were screaming, laughing, and running around while mothers looked on and chatted with each other.

I do have to point out that Tony stood out painfully. I don't think I saw another father in the area at all, which while it was amusing is nothing new to most children's playgrounds. (He also told me not to mention this but it was far too funny not to- he was hit on by a few of the "cougars" sitting on one of the park benches when he walked by to come back over where I had been staying.) I know now that him going to the park alone during that time would not be a good idea if we want to be discrete.

But the most important thing during this time of day is that the children seemed to keep glancing at the woods that resided just beyond the monkey bars and slides. It wouldn't have been noticeable if so many of them hadn't kept looking over briefly or even just blatantly staring at times. The mothers didn't notice it, but Tony and I did. We tried looking into the woods without actually entering them, but as far as we could tell, there was nothing in them. Tony did seem to be very uncomfortable at this point though, so we decided to head back and stay at the house for a few hours before going back again.

During the time that we were inside simply reading or watching television- which, by the way, seems so odd to do now. I realize that I haven't been really relaxed in a while and it was uncomfortable to just sit there and let life go on without really doing anything- Tony's mother kept talking to us or making dinner. His father still has a job at a pharmaceutical company, and so came back later that evening. Tony is unfortunately rather tense around his parents even after the reunion they had the other day. He says it's because he never really liked his parents, but I haven't gotten to talk to his mother or father alone to see what they're like, so I wouldn't know.

We went back to the park in the afternoon and this was the time the area reached it's full capacity. There were people of all ages, from hyper children, to old folk simply enjoying the sunny day. Unfortunately, because it was the busiest time, there was no way for us to really tell if something out of the ordinary was occurring. So we decided to quit and go back to the house due to the both of us disliking crowded places (which we can thank him and his proxies for that).

Dinner was served at the Delmont residence as Tony's father had come home during the time we were gone, and I must say it was the most delicious thing I have eaten in months. I ate two servings before I remembered my love of cooking, something that I had more or less forgotten in all of the excitement, and asked Tony's mother if I could cook with her from now on. She agreed so I'll be able to talk to her more often and hopefully be able to see if anything out of the ordinary has been occurring in the area recently. Tony obviously won't be doing this if his behavior at dinner was any indication. He loves his parents but he can't seem to engage in normal conversation with them or he doesn't know how to interact with them.

Despite all of this we went back a fourth and final time at night. The park was basically empty save for a few young couples we saw. While I didn't see any tall, faceless horrors hanging around in the shadows, I did feel like someone was watching me, which made me nervous enough to finally ask Tony if we could leave. He seemed fine which is a little odd as he's usually the one to be jumpy and ready to sprint at a moments notice.

In conclusion, I think there might be activity in this large town. We're going to keep looking around to see if we can find anything that could give us a lead, but at this point I'm not getting my hopes up. Cynthia, if you're reading this, we're going to find you, baby. It may take us a while, but mommy and daddy are going to figure out a way to get you back and out of that things control.

Take care of yourselves.

-Cathy