stuff was. The figures had arms and legs, hands and feet, and their faces were covered with this cloth like stuff. This covering made it impossible to a make out their faces. I saw them bent over on their hands and feet, walking just like a four legged animal. While I was watching all this take place, coming from the direction of the figures was the flapping wing noise that I had heard earlier. There were no birds anywhere and no wind blowing either!

But I could hear the noise of what sounded to me like a tremendous flock of birds’ wings flapping! These mysterious figures stood up, bowed down, turned around, and slowly moved away from each other.
Several times they got down on all fours, and for many minutes, turned in complete circles. It seemed like they were dancing. Something inside told me that these “things” were not normal, but in fact “spirits.”
I was scared. I tried my best to keep very still, but I was shaking all over. After a few minutes, the spirits changed their steps and began to move from side to side. I know this might sound crazy, but the figures changed from animal to human to animal and back again. I couldn't believe what I was seeing!

Suddenly, they did something that scared me even more: they stood upright on their feet, and leaped towards each other. I’m telling you, this really surprised me. I didnt expect them to do this, or to be so fast.
I felt that if I moved, even a finger, they would discover me. Who knows what they would have done to me. Because they were moving all around the riverbed so much, I was afraid they would eventually spot me.
I decided to keep lying flat on my stomach, hoping to

camouflage myself as much as possible. If they spotted me, I was ready to run for it. I kept quiet and watched them repeat their strange dance over and over again. A few times one of them would jump about ten feet into the air. It was terrifying and, at the same time, fascinating to watch. I stayed hidden behind the branch for a few more minutes, until I felt a bug sting my leg. I felt it crawl into my pant leg and sting me on the ankle. It must have been a wasp because it hurt like heck! I didn’t want to make a sudden move, but knew I needed to get rid of it. I slowly sat up and stretched my arm over to scratch my leg. Through it all, I didnt take my focus off the spirits. Luckily, they didn’t notice me. But when I turned my head, I hit it against a branch that was a few inches above me. The sound of the moving branch gave me away! I saw the spirits freeze and immediately they turned their heads in my direction!

I saw them crouch down and instantly disappear into thin air! That was all I needed. I stood up and ran for my life, breaking branches as I ran through the bushes. Several times I lost my balance and fell to the ground. Each time I got up and ran back down the river retracing my steps, stumbling many more times before arriving at the road which led back home. It’s difficult for me to describe how scared I was. I was shaking all over. When I got home, my father saw me covered in sweat and dirt and asked me where I had been. I excitedly told him the story of what I had seen. He looked at me with a strange gaze that I had never seen before and shook his head. He said, “Those were not things you should have been watching. You should not have been sneaking up on those spirits.
They need to be left alone when they dance. You must not ever sneak up on spirits again.” He also told me: