Last Night, I Saw Something in the Sky

 It was around 10 PM when I decided to step out onto the balcony of my flat. I live on the fifth floor, and I had a cup of tea in hand, just about ready to wind down before going to bed. My flat’s nothing special—two rooms, a kitchen, and a few windows that face different parts of the building. But the balcony’s where I like to go when I need a bit of fresh air or just to clear my head, usually before bed. From here, I can see quite a bit—especially the lights of the big Sainsbury’s about two miles away.

It was one of those crisp, clear nights in the West Midlands where the stars felt sharper than usual, and the air seemed quieter than normal. I stood there for a while, sipping my tea and watching the stillness around me. The streets were quiet, not much traffic, and the usual hum of the neighbourhood felt almost muffled, like everything was holding its breath.

That’s when I noticed it—a bright light in the distance, just above the line where the rooftops met the sky. At first, I thought it was a plane, but it didn’t move like one. It was just too steady, too bright. The light was almost blinding, glowing intensely in the clear night sky, but it didn’t blink like an aircraft’s beacon. There was no engine hum, no noise at all—just this eerie, silent brightness hanging in the sky.

I squinted, trying to make sense of it. It wasn’t moving in any direction, just hanging there. It felt strange—something about it felt off. I thought maybe it was some kind of drone or a helicopter, but it didn’t act like either of those. Then, without warning, the light shot across the sky at an impossible speed. It zipped from one side to the other, changing direction sharply, moving faster than anything I’d ever seen. My heart skipped a beat, and I instinctively took a step back, gripping my tea a little tighter.

The thing was, it wasn’t just fast. It moved in a way that didn’t make any sense. There were no curves or gentle turns like you’d expect from a plane or a drone. It was as if it was defying the very idea of how things should fly. It shot across the sky in jagged, impossible angles, then paused, hovering completely still, as though it was waiting for something.

I felt a weird kind of pressure in the air, like the atmosphere around me had changed. There was no wind, but everything suddenly felt heavy, as if the air itself was charged with something I couldn’t explain. The light shimmered slightly, almost like the air around it was distorting, bending in odd ways. It was almost as if the object was surrounded by some kind of force field.

And then, just as quickly as it had appeared, it darted off into the distance—faster than I could follow with my eyes. Gone, just like that. The night returned to its silence, and for a few moments, I just stood there on the balcony, unable to move. My heart was pounding, my breath quickened. What the hell was that? I had no explanation. My mind raced through a dozen possibilities—maybe it was some kind of military test flight, a high-tech drone, or some experimental aircraft. But whatever it was, it didn’t seem normal. It didn’t feel human.

I went inside, still shaking a bit, and closed the balcony door behind me. I set my cup of tea down on the table, but my hands were a little unsteady. I tried to rationalize what I’d just seen, but the more I thought about it, the less sense it made. Maybe it was just my imagination playing tricks on me—except I knew what I saw. I wasn’t making it up.

The strangest part was that I wasn’t the only one who had seen strange lights in the sky lately. There had been rumors of odd things happening in the West Midlands, but I never thought it would happen to me. I didn’t tell anyone, though. Who would believe me? It was too ridiculous, even for me.

But every time I stand on that balcony now, I can't help but look up, wondering if it might show up again. I don't think I'll ever forget what I saw that night. Whatever it was, it was something beyond anything I could explain.