Real Encounters

*Saved by asking strangers to take a photo of me*

So this happened about a month ago when I was in Canada traveling. For background, I'm a 20 year old girl, and American.

We had just finished dinner, and the guys I was traveling with wanted to head off to the mall, but I was tired and just wanted to go back to my hotel room. They kept the car and so I took the 20 minute walk back to the hotel on my own.

By the time I made it back, the sun was starting to set. Our hotel happened to be right next to one of the Great Lakes, and the view was absolutely stunning! I stayed outside for a few minutes just looking at the view (there was a nice boardwalk right along the lake) and then went back in to drop off the leftovers and grab my camera for some photos.

I came back out the side door of the hotel because it was closer to the boardwalk (side door emptied out into the parking lot of the hotel, and the boardwalk was right next to the parking lot) and took a few photos. It was pretty empty outside since it was getting dark, just a few people unloading their cars in the parking lots, but luckily I caught a middle-aged couple, Bob and Linda, walking their dog and asked them if they could take a few photos of me. Normally, I hate photos and just take them of the scenery, but my mom had been bugging me to email her a few good ones of myself because she missed me and I figured now would be as good a time as ever.

They were super nice and took a few photos, and I chatted with them for a few minutes, but as I made to leave Linda leaned over and said, "I just want you to be aware, but there's a man that's been trailing you down the boardwalk. We noticed earlier, and I didn't really like the way he's been looking at you."

I immediately guessed who she was talking about - there was a guy who I had accidentally made eye contact with when I came out the side door - he was leaning against the wall RIGHT next to the door and smoking a cigarette - baggy black pants, tattoos, black t-shirt. Looked a little out of place for where we were (expensive part of the city, REALLY expensive hotel and everyone there was basically nicely dressed families and businessmen in suits). Something about him in that split-second of eye contact had just felt OFF, but I just dismissed it as me being paranoid for being alone in a foreign city. A few minutes after I had walked toward the boardwalk, I even glanced to see if he was still at the door, but couldn't see him anymore. Evidently, did not look hard enough. Really freaked me out that he had been following me and I, stupidly, had not even picked up on it.

Really thrown off, I told them I'd stay and talk to them for a little longer just to make sure he was gone. We didn't see him around anymore, and probably stayed there for another 20-30 minutes at least. They were really nice and helpful about places to go in the city since it was my first time there, but then it was actually pretty dark so I told them since the guy had gone I would head back. They said they were headed off too, but turned out they were actually staying at my hotel which we figured out when we were walking the same way. We laughed about it and kept walking.

We'd been right outside the parking lot the entire time, so it was only a few steps to get back to the hotel side door. You needed a swipe key to get in the side entrance and as we are seconds away from the door THE MAN REAPPEARED. Bob didn't notice because he was already swiping the key, and I was directly behind Bob, but Creeper cut in RIGHT behind Bob, (I had been following Bob pretty closely so there was barely enough room) in front of me and Linda+dog (So entering the hotel - Bob - Creeper - Me - Linda+Dog in a single-file line through this stupid side door). Linda had only seen him from a distance before and therefore didn't know that's who he was, so I whispered to her that this was the guy (while he was two feet away!!) and internally panicked as we walked towards the elevators. Bob was still not clued in, and I didn't know how to tell him given that he was standing directly next to the creeper.

I didn't know what to do, because I was staying alone on my room and my room was on a different floor than all the guys (who weren't even back yet, so even that was irrelevant). I continued to try and figure out a plan, mentally running through what I could do. Police? Dude hadn't actually done anything yet. Also my phone was on my bed in my room. I was walking forward on autopilot, eyes glued to the floor because I was afraid he would look back and make eye contact.

Elevator came, the four of us standing there waiting for it, and we all shuffled in. Bob hit a floor button, Creeper hit a floor button, I stared at my feet. Last second, a dad and his 3 or 4 year old slipped in too. So basically all of us were crammed in this elevator, creeper DIRECTLY across from me in the uncomfortably small space. You know when you can just feel a person's eyes on you? I chanced a glance up, and he was staring. Again. I thought about what a dumb way this would be to die. The dad and daughter got off. Linda whispered to just get off with them. Thank god, because I hadn't hit a floor of the elevator, not wanting to give mine away to him, but also not wanting to get off on a random one. We got to Linda's floor and I stepped off with them.

Creeper did not leave with us.

Linda told me after that he had hit the button for the 11th floor (top floor) probably to see what floor I got off on. I chatted with them in the hallway for a bit, and then crossed my fingers that I would be fine going back to my room. I found a stairwell on the side of the floor and imagined all the corners he could be hiding around as I sprinted down the deserted stairwell back to my floor, looking around both corners as I came out of the stairwell and jamming my key back into my room.

Locked, safe, I didn't come out from my room until we had to check out again the next morning. I don't even want to think about what I would have happened, phoneless and alone, if I hadn't stopped that couple. The earliest the guys would have noticed I was gone would be the next morning because I had told them I was crashing early and they wouldn't think to check.

Credits: Reddit, thro33way