Last night was a night I'm really not in any hurry to experience again.
On the way out of the tutoring family's house last night, I was 'followed' (for lack of a better word) by someone back to my car.
Now, as a relatively rational adult, I was thinking I was imagining it. That guy's just walking, ok he's going for a jog, he's getting pretty close - nah, he must just want to run past me.
It was only as I reached my car door that I realised exactly how close this guy was. As I got in the car, I could see him at the front of my car, making a beeline for my door. I have never been so thankful for central locking as I was right then!
As the guy continued to slide himself alongside the side of my car, my whole body went into shutdown mode. People talk about panic taking over, and being frozen to the spot - that was me. I saw him reach the passenger side of my boot, and then take off behind the house next door.
I made it home okay. I told B about it and I was fine. I went to bed, and wasn't worried at all.
Then the nightmares started.
Thankfully I have a police officer in the immediate family now, so I talked to him this morning about making a report. As I started retelling what happened, I had a panic attack, and just sobbed down the phone line. My brother in law is a wonderful man (obviously with years of police experience behind him, he knows what to do with scared, panicky women!), so he talked me down and convinced me to file a report.
B came home not long after this (I think my blubbering phone call to him, followed up by his brother phoning was enough impetus!), and so off we went to the Police Station. The police won't get much from what I had to tell them - but at least it's on file.
I'm writing this mainly to tell the girls out there that it's okay to go to the Police with things like this. Even if nothing happens. Even if you can't tell anything else other than shape of a person/car/location that it happened.
My brother in law told me the story of a crime that happened not so long ago. How earlier in the night another person had run into the perpetrator, but decided not to report it as 'nothing happened'. However, when the person watched the news and saw that a crime happened not long after their 'event', they went to the police and gave them the very small amount of information they had.
Thanks to that person reporting the 'almost crime', they were able to arrest and charge the perpetrator of the crime that happened.
Don't ever underestimate the power of reporting. Even for your own sake. I know now that I've got this on file, and know that there is something there documented, it makes me feel a lot better.
Oh yeah - and I'm fine. The guy didn't touch me and he didn't take anything. I'm still a bit 'fragile' emotionally - but that might just be the Clomid talking.
(Oh yeah, and the Police Officer told me that if that ever happens again - beep your horn like it's going out of fashion. Just thought I'd pass that piece of information on to you guys too!).
5 comments:
I totally get what you are talking about. A similar thing happened to me last year. I opened up my front door to a strange man and to cut a long story short wrestled with him to shut the door. I ran upstairs and immediately phoned my Brother in law who came straight around and tried to find him - which he did and unfortunately couldn't ascertain what they heck he was doing on my door. Anyway,for days I tried to work out what had happened and tried to convince myself that I had just imagined it and read the situation wrong but after much thought I made a verbal report on the phone to the police. She informed me that it would be highly unlikely that something could be done about it and that I should've reported it when it happened. Since then I have gotten a screen door and if I can, I answer the front door from the balcony. We second guess ourselves instead of trusting our instincts sometimes to report it. I am just thankful that my initial instincts of screaming at him when the situation was happening kicked in and that I could over power him. STill, I would love to know what he really wanted with me, but then again, maybe I don't!
Hey Sasch,
sorry to hear that you have been through this, it is scarey stuff. Thank God for your protection....
I don't want to alarm you BUT maybe you should consider changing the "routine" with this family's tutoring, could you meet in an area that's safer- a restaurant or cafe that's busy, could you change the night that you tutor each week?
I guess the other thing that strikes me - and I commend you, is trust your instinct. Your instinct told you "something" wasn't right and you acted on it by locking the doors
*hugs* and keeping you in prayers,
HUGS. I am so sorry you had to go through that Sasch, it would have been terrifying and I am so glad you are safe. Thank you for being Brave enough to go the police, you are right, reporting it may help stop it happening to someone else.
Love Telle
Dude. That bites! Glad you're ok :) Oh, and love the visitor location tracking thing, lol :)
Stephanie
Thank the Lord for His angels! I know He had them around you the other night - I don't know if you remember when you were about 8 and I had that vision of a huge angel and how mad He got when there was a threat to one of His kids! Oh, and by the way, if I ever find out who that was he's in BIG trouble - you don't mess with this mama's kid and get away with it!
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