I was walking along a back road once late at night not long ago, a gravel road some ways out of town: I was coming up a little throughway to a main gravel road, and happened to pass a little stand of weeds or something on my right.

As I went past, a katydid or other night bug in the undergrowth let out this long, ululating noise that was so loud and weird that it made me pause: I stood there a minute, looking skeptically at the bush, and as I did a red truck trundled by, rumbling past me over the gravel down the main road.

I thought nothing of it, went on along the road following: as I walked along, paying no special attention to the guy, I soon realized he had slowed to a stop up ahead, near a cornfield. The truck waited there, dust cloud drifting in the red headlights, as I walked slowly up the road behind: I decided after a moment the guy might be lost or about to ask if I wanted a ride, and so as not to keep him up I started to hasten my steps. The truck was still up ahead, it seemed to be in park.

As I approached, I slowed down again: it looked like there was something beside the truck looking in the window, an animal of some kind. I drew nearer, curious, and realized it looked like a male deer: I could see a rack of antlers on it, though the shape of it was mostly silhouette. As I watched, the deer seemed to lower its head, as if bowing to the truck.

A moment later the truck pulled out, going on down the main road, just as I came into range of the taillights. I paused there where I'd seen the deer, but there was nothing, only the quiet road.