Real Encounters

*"Rock-a-bye baby..."*

My coworker told me this once and thinking about it still sends shivers down my spine:

One night she realizes that she's down to only one cigarette, so she decides to walk on down to the little corner mart that was located just a few streets down from her apartment building. If I remember correctly she said that the sun had just started to set, so by the time she got to the store, bought the cigarettes, and started walking back home it was dark out.

The weather that week had been pretty shitty and so it was somewhat foggy that night, but she wasn't too scared because this was a place she was familiar with and felt safe. She said about five minutes into the walk home she heard footsteps behind her. She didn't think anything of it at first, but when she could still hear the footsteps after five more minutes she began feeling slightly anxious.

She suddenly became very aware of how dark it was outside now and how empty the street she was on seemed. Then she heard a faint voice from behind her where the footsteps had been. Whoever was following her started to sing:

"Rock-a-bye baaabyyy...from the tree top.."

At this point she said she was in full panic mode, so she started to pick up her pace. The person behind her followed suit and the footsteps moved quicker.

"...when the wind bloowss...the cradle will rock..."

She finally made it back to her apartment building and yanked open the door of the lobby as fast as she could. The footsteps had stopped. She sprinted up the stairs to her apartment and looked out the window to see if the person was still there.

Outside in the courtyard she could make out the faint shape of a man's figure, standing there looking up right at her window. She said he stayed there like that for a good ten minutes before walking off.

Ever since this incident if she needs cigarettes, she has her son give her a ride to the store.