My mind wanders to a dark alley on a warm summer night. The sun had set hours ago, yet I was still traveling the streets of the city. The street lights are dull and every other one is burned out. Quickening my pace, I sprinted towards each glowing orb of light gratefully. I don't remember why, but I looked in that alley, between two apartment buildings.

"Madame?" a voice had called out in a scratchy voice from behind a dumpster. Of course, that stopped me from shock. Who used the word madame anymore? I turned slowly and peered into the shadows.

"Yes?"I called into the murky ebony abyss, "Show yourself." A man with a hunched back and black lips limped out from behind a foul-smelling bin. His clothes hung on his bony form and sunken eyes stared at me from the depths of his skull. One hand clutched a parcel, and the other a walking stick. My eyes wavered over the walking stick, which I found odd for a city man.

"My darling child, what is it you want most?" the man had asked me with a curious glow playing in his eyes. I frowned and cocked my head slightly as I pondered his motive. Although thoroughly wary, I answered truthfully.

"A family. Yes, someone who will love me." I watched the man's reaction. An amused glimmer entered his sunken face, but it was not consoling. This grimy man rapped his walking stick twice on the ground and grinned, showing pointed decaying teeth. Bile rose in my throat at the sight and I swallowed quickly, backing up.

"Darling, please come closer. I will give you all that you wish. All I want is you. I want you all to myself! Please, won't you be mine forever?" When he said this, there was a strained pleading in his voice. Grimacing away from his words, I glanced at his now outstretched hand. It was completely perfect and clean, especially compared to the rest of his body. When I lifted my eyes, I was shocked.

A handsome young man stood where the old man had been and he flashed a vibrant smile at me. I found myself smiling in return and I took a trusting step forward. My teenage mind didn't care where the other man had gone. My mind seemed clouded with a fog. Just as I reached out for the attractive man, I saw the hollow eyes and treacherous smile.

A white light exploded between us. I hit the concrete under the streetlight and scratched my arm against broken glass. My head spun and everything around me seemed to be a blast of gold and white light, mixed with black smoke. I squeezed my eyes shut and the earth stopped moving so outrageously. A hand touched mine and I grasped it without any other thought. When I looked to see who it was, I saw only a glowing being shaped like a human.

Finding my voice, I asked, "Who are you?" The human didn't answer, but patted my arm instead and whispered, "I will be here to love you, forever and always." His voice sounded like honey and harps mixed together. I found it reassuring and filled with love. Then the light was gone. Looking around me, I saw the semi-lit alley. I saw the flickering streetlights and the buildings' silhouettes against the sky. There was no sign of the man I had feared, nor the one I had trusted.

I looked down at my arm. There was no longer a cut or blood. This was when I realized my hand was clutching something. This was the hand the glowing creature had helped me up with. Opening my palm, my eyes rested on a small object that resembled an X.

At first, I did not know what the symbol meant. But as time wore on, I grew to know that it was a cross. There had been a cathedral in my city that preached about temptation and salvation. I wear the gift from the glowing man around my neck now, but I still walk by that alley. Never again did I see him or the grimy man from the dark. And never again did I walk down the path toward the darkness.