Buruni and Kalhaidhoo

I was about six years old when I first saw the black figure. I was staying on my mother's island, Buruni, in Thaa Atoll. One night my mother, my sister and I went to a birthday party at the house of one of my mother's friends near the beach. It was around nine o'clock, and the house was hot, so I stepped outside alone for some air.

The moment I went out, I saw him: a black figure standing there, looking directly at me. I froze. For about five seconds I could not move. When I blinked, he was gone. I went back and told my mother, but she did not believe me. The house stood in a dark area near the beach, and the detail I remember most clearly is his eyes. They were glowing.

I saw the figure more than once: once in Buruni, and three more times later in Kalhaidhoo. I was also possessed by a Dhevi in Buruni.

For about a month, I had been going fishing every day without catching anything. On my final day in Buruni, I went out again at dawn, this time alone. My sister saw me and called, "What are you doing at this time?" She took me back home. At around four that afternoon, we left the island.

That night, my sister was washing my school uniform while my aunt washed the dishes. They saw me taking off my shirt, and I suddenly ran outside towards the beach. My sister followed and brought me back inside. Our house was close to the sea, and my mother later told me that if my sister had not brought me back, they might never have found me.

I never saw the Dhevi again after that.