The imp

 It happened a couple of years ago. I was returning home from a concert, it was a little chilly, but not windy, the moon was shining — the perfect weather for returning home after a good event. There were no minibuses anymore, and I didn't want to spend money on taxis, so I walked. Halfway there, I thought it would be nice to grab a couple of cans of beer. The only kiosk was in a vacant lot right next to my house. There were, of course, doubts — it was midnight, the area was not particularly crowded, and at that time local gangsters often gathered near such stalls. I didn't want to see them at all.

After walking a couple of meters and seeing the stall, I realized that I wouldn't have to see it. It was deserted both in front of the kiosk and on the site near it. Then I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and turned around. A child was walking to my right. Well, how can I describe it?.. Hat, jacket. His shoes, which were too big for him, stood out in the dark. But what's the big deal, exactly? Many of them took care of their elders. But what was he doing here at such a late hour? Maybe a street kid?..

While I was thinking, the kid was already in front of me. The lantern illuminated him, and everything became clear to me: some kind of light green sweatpants, a huge jacket, a "cockerel" hat... It's like a homeless man, so it means their parking lot is nearby — maybe the elders sent for vodka...

But no, he did not knock on the window, but only quickly walked around the kiosk twice. That made me smile. Then the boy moved into the shade and sat down on the asphalt. I bought a beer and headed towards the house.

Already approaching the entrance, I heard footsteps coming from behind, running. Someone small was running. Yeah, so something's going to happen now... I turned around abruptly and prepared to "punch" the little bully, but no, he ran past me. The sleeves of the jacket fluttered in a funny way.

Suddenly, he stumbled and fell. I was surprised by the sound of the fall, as if a bag of cement had been dropped, but not a meter—tall child.

The kid didn't get up. Flashing my cell phone, I went up to him and called out:

"Kid, how are you?"

In response, he made a completely incomprehensible sound, similar to a cat meowing.:

— Mo-I-oh-oh-yo-oh!

Standing half a meter away from him, I turned on the flashlight on my phone (instead of the screen), and my stomach turned cold.

My clothes were lying in front of me: rolled-up trousers, a jacket, boots, one of which had a pant leg tucked in, and the other was standing on the road. I looked around, and suddenly I was very scared. I saw that to my left, just a meter away from me, there was a tall black silhouette, too thin for a human, and immediately I felt something that was completely out of place — an electric shock. And not with the whole body, but only at the tips of your fingers. I took off running. He calmed down only when he bolted the door of his apartment from the inside.

Who knows, maybe even now this "imp" is running around at night.…