My girlfriend and I purchased a house about 2 months ago, closing July 3rd. We've been doing extensive remodeling on it but began moving in just this weekend. We've spent exactly two nights in the house so far...



Tonight we were over at the old apartment getting the very last of our things. It turned out to be a lot more than we expected, so we were over at the apt. until about 11:40.



As we were walking out... a huge owl swooped down, landed in a tree just 30 feet from us and sat there. I commented how freaking weird it was... we kissed and parted, she was going to drop off the keys and I was going to get a soda on the way back to the house.



When I got back to the house I turned left into the alley and down to the backdrive... as I pulled in I saw a man, looked to be kneeling in my back yard... next to where the swing used to be.. and rope, still was.



I froze. It crossed my mind. Is this a suicide. The figured looked to be kneeling.. I put the car in reverse and started backing up... I honked my horn, put on my brights and sat... thinking he'd get up and run away. He didn't.



I backed up more... not having my cell phone. Wondering if my girlfriend had beat me home, found this and left... I sat there.. not knowing what to do... too affraid to get out of the car.



Lights came from the north alley.. and I got out and walked towards them... it was Kelly. From where she parked she couldn't see anything... I said:



"There's something wrong. There's someone in our back yard... I think, he's hanging there."



She said she'd never seen this look on my face before... everything in my body was screaming. I had no way to defend us.... I had no idea what was going on... it looked like a halloween dummy.



"Call 911." I said.



Five minutes later I ran down the alley to the street and flagged down a cruiser.. he beamed his light on me and I sprinted back up the alley. He followed and when we reached the yard he got out and asked "Where is he?" I pointed and he exited his car, drew his gun.. and walked forward.



He came back and asked "Do you know him?" I skipped the answer and asked "Is he dead?" he knodded, almost laughingly and said "Yeh... he's dead."



I won't get into the details of who he was... or why he was there, but I'd never met him or seen him or knew him... and tonight, he hung himself in my backyard.



I've never heard Kelly scream like that before. She was screaming and crying and asking what was going on and why... I have never seen anything this ****ed up in my life. We are shocked. We're at her parents tonight... canceled my travel plans for the rest of the week and settling in for the strangest night I hope to ever live.... this was very, very bad.



The news pulled up out front, won't make it though.. nor the paper... the firemen cut the rope from the tree. The cinder block he jumped from I picked up myself.. and carried back tothe rubbish pile.



The questions are.. what would have happened if we'd been there? Would it have still happened.. would he have done something to us. Was the owl a symbol... and why do this to someone you've never met. Or yourself.



Ugh... its so ****ing messed up.