I'm a 27-year-old mother of an 8-month-old daughter, and this happened to me last year. Before this incident, I never thought anything such as this could happen in my neigborhood, but I urge everyone reading now to always take extra precautions.
It was a warm evening, but I was holed up in my apartment because I was taking care of my 3-month-old daughter. It was 9pm and my husband was still at work; he'd been working late shifts so he could better support us and I was used to him arriving well past midnight by now.
Still, I was feeling beside myself with boredom and hadn't had any social gathering since the baby had been born. My doctor had advised me to go outside for a few walks, even with the baby if it meant I wasn't spending all my time cooped up in the apartment.
Thinking that the doctor's advice wasn't the worst, I picked up my baby and headed downstairs for that walk. I live on the 13th floor in a 23-floor apartment building.
I spent an hour near the pier and was feeling refreshed. Near the end of my walk, however, I saw a man a little distance away.
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He was seated in one of the benches and was following his gaze in my direction.
I moved around to make sure whether he was specifically staring in my way, and unfortunately confirmed he was looking at me.
The pier was filled with people, so I didn't have to worry about this man pursuing me. Still, it left me shaken.
I saw three older men lying on the grass deep in conversation and sat on a bench near them to make it seem like I could be mistaken for one of theirs daughter.
The man, however, got up from the bench he was on and sat on one adjacent to mine. He was clearly trying to make it look like it was a casual move, but I could see his eyes in my direction.
The area was beginning to clear and my apartment building was just behind me; I couldn't walk far away because I had my baby and she would be waking up anytime soon. The only people nearby were the three older men and the strange man.
A few seconds later, the three men rose up and started walking away. I noticed the strange man turn his head in my direction pointedly, and on instinct, I got up as well and headed toward my building.
I was relieved to see that the three older men were also heading for my building and wanted to stay close by so that the strange man couldn't get me alone.
Around this time, the men noticed I was deliberately walking close and I saw one nudge the others to inform them of this.
Figuring it was better to come clean, I smiled gratefully and was met with smiles from all three as well. We stopped at the elevator door, when I saw the man following me standing by the entrance of the building.
