Thread: Bad feeling

When I was a younger fella I used to work for a fella called Allan. Al was an Aussie bloke who came to NZ and started a career dairy farming. I was a bit off the rails at that stage and Al gave me a chance and helped set me in the right direction again. He had grown up hard in Sydney and found himself on the streets of Kings Cross at a young age. He used to carry this little pocket knife and one day he told me the story about how he came to be in possession of it, he had taken it from another young fella who had been stabbed and ended up dying, living the way he did as a young fella meant surviving the best way he knew how and sometimes that involved taking advantage of the vulnerable so when he came across the young fella taking his last few breaths he searched his pockets and ended up with the pocket knife, he kind of felt bad about it but at the same time it was a little momento of where he had come from and he felt he should at least look after it.
I noticed at one stage he didn't have his pocket knife anymore as he was using a new one to cut bale strings etc. I asked him what happened to his pocket knife and he stared me straight in the eye and said "the ground took it back"
I was a bit confused about what he meant so pressed him on it and he said he fumbled as he took it out of his pocket and dropped it, he saw it land and when he went to pick it up he blinked and it dissapeared. I started to tell him surely it's just lost in the grass or something, I asked where he lost it and offered to go help find it and he cut me short and said again "the ground took it back" in a way that made me think this was a fella that's completely convinced about what he believes happened and kind of doesn't want to continue the conversation. Have thought often about that over the years when conversations start about unexplained or "spooky" things.
Al unfortunately died last year whilst in police custody https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/crime...n-dairy-farmer I don't want to dwell on what it was that lead him to be there in the first place as like his sister stated to the media at the time Al was a "bit of a ratbag" but he had a big heart and I'll always be gratefull to him for giving me a shot when I was in a bit of a dark place myself.