We've all heard stories of the danger in the world. Throughout our lives were constantly told to be careful, never walk alone, don't talk to strangers. Anything thing can happen at any time so don't get comfortable. Those stories aren't always nightmares, sometimes they're real life horrors. You can't trust everyone and when you put yourself in that situation everything changes. After all, it's hard to think in the face of danger.
I always ignored the stories I was told because in my mind that's what they were. They were just stories, nothing would ever happen to me. I was wrong, so wrong. I was an experienced hitchhiker by the time I was seventeen. Of course, I had the occasional run in with weirdos but my experiences were nothing compared to the tales I was told. That was until the day that changed my mindset forever. It seemed like a regular day in April, I believe it was a Tuesday. I had spent the day with my best friend at her house in the next town over. Since she lives a fair distance away, I usually take the bus home. This day, however, I stayed later than usual and ended up missing the last bus back home. Not wanting to intrude on my friends family I decided to leave anyway. I started walking but I knew I couldn't make it all the way home so I held my thumb out to every car that passed. Most of the drivers passed me without even a second glance but after about twenty minutes of walking, I finally caught someones attention. A black car slowed to a stop beside me, I couldn't tell you the make or model. The passenger window rolled down as I approached it. I peered through the now open window to see a nice looking elderly man. Since he appeared non-threatening, I climbed into the passenger side of the car. He greeted me with a sweet smile and asked me where I was headed. As I had some experience with hitchhiking I knew not to give him my exact address so I gave him an address on a neighboring street. He started off in the direction of the town I live on. The ride was going pretty normal for the most part. He told me about his life growing up, serving in the war, and some other tidbits. The man genuinely seemed like a nice guy, he was just a little lonely. He told me stories about his wife, how she had recently passed. He kept telling me how much I reminded him of her. At first, I thought it was nice that he was able to see some reminiscence of his late wife in me and I liked the joy it brought him. However, after a few moments, he began telling me how young and sexy I looked. I was a bit put off by those statements but decided to just let it go. That was until I felt his hand rub my thigh, I was completely mortified. I heard him whispering to himself, it sounded like he was saying a prayer. He was thanking God for leaving me on the side of the road where he could find me. I pushed his hand off of me which caused him to get pretty mad, he squeezed my thigh hard making me yelp in pain. He then told me to shut up and be a good little girl. I was scared beyond belief, what had I gotten myself into. At this point, I was mentally freaking out and trying to think of some way to get out of this situation. I looked out the window and noticed we weren't far from the school I attended, we were still a fair distance from my house so I decided it was my best option. Bracing myself I threw open my door and rolled out of the car before taking off down a narrow alley toward the school. I could hear the man slam on the brakes and yell but I didn't look back. I ran the two blocks to get to the school praying that he wouldn't see me. No one in this town really drives late so whenever I would hear a car engine I assumed it was him and dove into the nearest bushes. I've never been so scared in my life and all I could think was if I had just listened I wouldn't be in this situation. When I reached the school, I ran around the back where I knew there was a little closet that was always unlocked where the janitors kept some supplies. I hid inside, paralyzed with fear. I knew my mother would be worried if I didn't return, but I was too scared to try to make it home. That night, I ended up falling asleep in that janitor's closet only to be found the next morning by one of the custodians. When he found me he immediately took me inside the school to the guidance office where both my mother and the police were called. I told them everything that had happened during the night. The police had me come into the station where I had to file a report. I gave them every detail I could remember about both the man and the car, then they told my mother to take me home. As we were leaving, I overheard a conversation between two cops. Turns out the house at the address I had given the man was broken into, the woman who lived there and her three kids were hospitalized. I don't know for sure that the man did it but that doesn't help with the guilt I felt after finding out. Luckily the woman and her kids all recovered with no serious injuries, we all needed a bit of therapy though. To this day I don't think the man was caught but no one seems to know who he was or where he went.
This story may be horrific but I learned a lot from it and I hope you will too. I put too much trust in strangers and it could have cost me my morals or maybe even my life. You really can't judge a book by its cover, that man seemed sweet but he turned out to be a nightmare. This isn't just some cautionary tale your parents tell you to get you to listen. This is my story and as much as I wish it was just a story it wasn't. The tales you're told aren't just meant to scare you, they're there to guide you. Moral of the story is to listen when people warn you they might just be right. I wish I had listened to my mother and not talked to strangers. I should have listened to my friend's parents when they told me it was too dangerous to go out alone at night. Maybe I should have actually listened to the stories I've heard. I didn't, but from now on I will and I hope you take this serious because it might just save your life.
