Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
I've used Craigslist quite a bit in the past, mostly
to buy and sell different things like furniture, electronics, and
even clothes. But as a woman, I always try to
be extra cautious when I use it. Even though I've
heard some strange and even scary stories about other people's experiences,
I've been pretty lucky so far. I've never had any
(00:43):
real issues, aside from a couple of weird buyers who
made me uneasy. I also enjoy browsing the missed Connections
page now. It's a section where people post about someone
they saw in public but didn't get a chance to
talk to, hoping that the other person might see it.
On a good day. You can find some really funny
(01:04):
posts there, and it's just an entertaining part of the
website overall. Then one day, while I was browsing, I
saw a post titled Hello. The post said, you should
really pay more attention when people are watching you. It
can hurt someone's feelings when they're ignored. You're blonde and petit,
(01:25):
and I like watching you pick out your groceries. I
couldn't help but wonder about that post, especially since I
was also blonde and petit, and I just happened to
be at the grocery store the day before, but it
was probably just some strange coincidence after all. Anyway, I
kept browsing through a few more posts to get my
(01:46):
mind off it, then decided I'd had enough for the
day and logged off. About a week later, I found
myself back at that same grocery store. I was going
through my usual routine, pushing my car down the aisles
and picking up what I needed, not really paying attention
to anything around me. The store wasn't too busy, and
(02:09):
I was just focused on my shopping list. I wasn't
even thinking about that strange post from Craigslist anymore. It
had completely slipped my mind. And with everyone wearing mask now,
it feels like we all just blend in. But this
time I felt like someone was watching me. You know
that feeling when you just know someone's looking at you.
(02:32):
I was in the produce aisle, and when I turned
to look at the other end of the aisle, I
saw a man staring at me. I didn't get a
good look at him at first because I didn't want
to make eye contact for too long. I glanced again,
and his stare felt cold, almost like he was looking
right into my soul. It gave me chills. I stared
(02:56):
back for a few seconds, trying to figure out if
I was imagining things or if there was really something off.
He was wearing a mask like everyone else, but I
could see enough to tell that he was a short, overweight,
middle aged man. I knew this wasn't just a coincidence.
(03:16):
He was definitely focused on me, and it made me
really uneasy. So I grabbed the rest of the items
I needed, barely even thinking about what I was picking up.
I just wanted to get out of there as fast
as I could. I headed straight to the check out,
trying not to look back, and hurried through paying for
(03:36):
my groceries. All I wanted at that moment was to
leave and get somewhere safe. When I got to the
parking lot and started walking to my car, I noticed
that the man from the store was following me. I
turned around and saw him slowly walking towards my car,
which made me speed up my pace. I got into
my car, and as I turned to drive out of
(03:58):
the parking lot, I saw him again. He was just
standing there, staring at me. When I finally got home,
I felt so relieved. That night, I was bored and
decided to browse the Internet for a while. I ended
up back on the missed Connections page that night, just
(04:18):
scrolling through for something interesting. That's when I saw a
post titled nice seeing you. It said I love watching
you in the grocery store, but it was really rude
of you to run away from me in the parking lot.
I just want you to love me. As I read
those words, I could feel my tears started to well
(04:41):
up in my eyes. It all came together in that moment.
Those two posts I had seen earlier, they were about me,
the creepy guy in the store and in the parking lot.
It was him. He had been watching me, and now
he was writing these things online. The fact that he
had followed me and even written about it was terrifying.
(05:04):
It wasn't just some weird coincidence. It was real, and
he was fixated on me, even though I knew it
wasn't a good idea. I replied to the post, demanding
an explanation and threatening to call the police. The reply
I got back made me feel sick. It said I
(05:24):
was waiting for you to reply. It's so good to
finally talk to you, now, we can be together. I
replied again, telling him to leave me alone and that
there was no chance of us ever being together. I
also told him I was going to the police, and
I flagged his post. I stayed up late that night.
(05:47):
Then around two am, I got an email notification. It
was a reply from that guy's email. This time there
was an image attached. The picture was of me in
my kitchen, wearing the same clothes I had on at
that very moment. Oh my god, he was outside my house.
(06:07):
Then I heard a knock at my living room window.
I didn't even think about opening the blinds to look.
I was too scared. But then I heard his voice say,
let me in. We can finally be together. I went
straight into the bathroom and locked the door behind me.
My hands were shaking, but I managed to call nine
(06:30):
one one. I was trying to explain everything to the operator,
but I could barely catch my breath. That's when I
heard it, the sound of the window downstairs shattering. My
whole body went cold. I started screaming, crying harder than
I ever had before. He was trying to calm me down,
(06:53):
telling me to stay on the line and that the
police were on their way, but all I could think
about was that someone was inside my house. I stayed
as quiet as I could, trying to listen for any
sounds downstairs. My heart was pounding and I felt completely trapped.
I had no idea what that man was doing or
(07:16):
if he was coming upstairs. All I could do was
wait and hope that the police would arrive in time.
Suddenly I heard the man right outside the bathroom door,
slamming against it and yelling at me to open up.
Then I heard the sound of police sirens. The man
stopped banging on the door, and I heard him running away.
(07:38):
A few minutes later, the police arrived, but by then
the guy was already gone. I gave the officers my
report and told them everything about the Craigslist post, the
grocery store, and how he had been following me. They
said they would do their best to investigate it. The
(07:58):
investigation is still going on, and right now I'm in
the process of moving to a new place every night.
I'm scared that I might see that guy again, and
I just hope he gets caught soon. One thing is
for sure, I'll never look at the missed connections page again.
(08:27):
This took place about four years ago, right after I
turned eighteen. I can't tell you the name of the
place where I work or exactly where it is, but
I can say it's a store in a busy mall.
Because it's a mall, I meet lots of different people
every day. That day, I was the one opening the store,
(08:49):
so I got there early to make sure everything was ready. Now.
My first task were the usual ones, unlocking the doors,
turning on the lights, and making sure the store looked neat.
After that, I sat at the counter and checked the
emails that came in overnight, replying to the important ones.
(09:11):
It seemed like just a regular morning, but then something
happened that made that day unforgettable. It was a short shift,
since this was just a part time job for me.
I clocked in, worked for four hours, then clocked out
and went to my college classes. Nothing unusual happened that day,
just the regular stuff like helping customers find what they
(09:34):
needed and ringing up their purchases. A few days later,
I was sitting in a restaurant with my boyfriend and
suddenly my phone started buzzing NonStop. The girls in my
work group chat were going crazy over a screenshot they shared.
It was from a post on Craigslist by a man
who mentioned meeting me at my store. The post was
(09:56):
in the missed connections section, where people write about meeting
someone they want to see again. When I opened the picture,
I saw that he was talking about me. He described
how I had helped him find a few items for
his daughter. He said I was friendly and polite, and
that I had rung up his purchases at the register.
(10:17):
I remembered that day clearly, but nothing about the encounter
seemed strange or out of place. He had just seemed
like another regular customer, and I didn't think twice about
it after he left. But seeing his post online made
me realize that maybe it had meant something more to him,
which was a little surprising. As I sat in the
(10:39):
restaurant with my boyfriend, I tried to remember my shift
from a few days ago. I thought about a few
men who it might have been that day. For the
next few weeks at work, I was extra careful. This
was my first job, and since I was only eighteen,
I wasn't used to people always staring at me, or
(11:00):
even worse, following me. This whole experience really shook me up.
And even now I still find myself watching my surroundings
because of what happened. I made some changes. I stopped
wearing a name tag at work so people wouldn't easily
know my name. I also made sure my coworkers understood
(11:22):
not to tell anyone my work schedule. No matter what,
it's better to be safe than sorry. It all just
makes you think about how careful you have to be,
even in what should be a normal job. Before cell
(11:46):
phones were common, I was a mom in my early thirties.
I had just driven my two youngest kids to the doctor.
The pediatrician's office was in Macon, Georgia, about an hour
away from our home. My kids were one, one and
three years old at the time, and we had a
scheduled appointment. Since we lived so far, the office always
(12:07):
gave us the last two appointments of the day, which
we really appreciated. The doctor had just moved into a
new building located on a freshly built part of the highway.
The area was very quiet and isolated, but the new
office was much nicer than his old one. Near the hospital.
There were only four or five cars in the parking lot,
(12:30):
including ours. We were driving a black jeep Cherokee that
we had owned for two years. I pulled up near
the entrance, took the kids out of their car seats,
and went inside. We spent about an hour waiting, then
seeing the doctor, settling the bill, and finally heading back out.
By the time I was putting the kids back in
(12:51):
their car seats to head home, my car was the
only one left in the parking lot. As the receptionist
locked the glass doors. I tried to start the car,
but it wouldn't turn on. Instead, it just made a
strange clicking sound. With no other choice, I got the
kids out of the car again and knocked on the
(13:12):
door until some one led us back inside. I asked
to use their phone to call a near by garage
for help. When I called, the man said he could come,
but it might take some time. I gave him my
location and went back to the car. I rolled down
the windows to keep it cooler and put the kids
(13:33):
back in their seats while we waited. Before long, we
saw all the lights in the building go out. As
everyone left, one by one, their cars drove off from
behind the building, and soon we were completely alone in
the parking lot. Since it was still light outside, I
spent most of the time looking after the kids. I
(13:53):
dug through the car to find snacks in a bottle,
making sure they weren't getting too hot. The service station
attendant had told me it might take a long time,
but I was happy when a truck pulled into the
empty parking lot sooner than expected. A man got out
of his pick up, smiled, nodded at me, and said
(14:15):
he would take a look under the hood. He was
a middle aged man and looked a bit scruffy, but honestly,
many gas station workers looked like that, especially after a
long day. I was just glad he started working under
the hood right away. I sat back down in the
driver's seat with the door open, waiting for him to
(14:37):
tell me to try starting the car. He seemed to
take a long time checking the connections, and I wished
he would just grab the jumper cables, but he never did.
I stayed in the car and asked him what he
thought was wrong. He replied, oh, it's just a loose wire,
not the battery, and kept working. I couldn't see his
(15:00):
face from where I was sitting, but I could see
his hands a little bit through the gap between the
windshield and the raised hood. As we waited more than once,
he said it was just a loose wire and asked
if I could come up here real quick so he
could show me which one it was so it wouldn't
happen again. I remember smiling and shaking my head, telling
(15:24):
him there was no point in showing me because I
didn't know anything about cars, and stayed in the driver's seat.
At one point, I thought he was definitely trying to
flirt with me while talking, but I wanted to stay
polite and kind since he was helping us. We were
tired and miserable, and I was mostly focused on the kids. Oddly,
(15:46):
he started sounding a bit frustrated because I wouldn't get
out of the car to look at the engine. I
remember thinking I didn't want to upset him in case
he decided to leave us there alone, especially since the
sun was setting so quickly. Then something very strange happened.
Another truck pulled into the empty parking lot. As soon
(16:08):
as it did, the man working on my car quickly
slammed the hood shut, ran to his truck, started it,
and drove away fast without even saying goodbye. I felt
both confused and a bit worried because I had no
idea who was arriving. Now. I remember feeling a bit
scared that he had left me alone so suddenly, especially
(16:30):
with my two little kids. Why wouldn't he stay and
at least talked to the person who had just parked
next to us. That seemed like the polite thing to do.
As soon as I stepped out, the man introduced himself,
and his name and voice matched the person I had
talked to on the phone earlier. He even called me
by name, apologized for being late, and smiled. Then he
(16:55):
looked towards the road, pointing and asked me who the
man was that had just left so quickly. Feeling relieved,
I smiled in surprise and said, well, I don't know.
I thought he was you this whole time. We both
laughed a little, and then he grabbed jumper cables, walked
(17:15):
to the front of my car, opened the hood, and
started working. I quickly sat back in the driver's seat,
feeling grateful that hopefully the air conditioner would be running soon,
while waiting to hear him say try it now, I
had my back turned checking on the kids. Then he
surprised me by suddenly coming to the driver's side door,
(17:38):
and in an odd voice, he said, ma'am, is this yours?
I looked at his hands and saw he was holding
a long, thin, daggerlike tool about a foot and a
half long. One end had small round finger holes, like
a strange mix between a long, thin sword and scissors.
(18:01):
I remember being surprised, but not scared, so I asked
where he had found it. Then he said he found
it under the hood. I replied simply that I had
never seen it before. He just stood there staring at
the tool and even seemed a bit pale, like he
couldn't find the words to say anything for a moment.
(18:23):
But honestly, I didn't care about it at all. All
I wanted was for him to get the car started
so I could pay him and leave. He didn't say
anything else, started his truck and then signaled for me
to start the jeep. Feeling grateful, I quickly turned the
air conditioner on full blast, rolled up the windows, and
(18:45):
pointed the air vents toward the back seat for the kids.
I reached for my purse to pay him, got out
of the car and took a few steps towards him
to hear how much I owed With both our vehicles running.
He came around to my driver's side, but instead of
giving me the bill, he walked right past me and
picked up that strange tool again. Ma'am, I want you
(19:09):
to look at this one more time, and he held
it out for me to see up close. This time,
I moved closer and really looked at it. It still
looked very large, almost like a bayonet, except for the
small two loops on one end. As he held it,
he spoke quietly and slowly, like he was trying hard
(19:30):
to help me understand something I was still missing. They
hadn't been there very long at all, because they were
sitting right on top. They must have just been put there.
I shook my head and half smiled, saying, but they're
obviously very old and rusty. He pointed at them and said, yeah,
but look how sharp they are. It looks like they've
(19:51):
just been sharpened. As I paid him, his last words
to me were, ma'am, I don't know what was about
to happen here, but I'm really glad I showed up
when I did. Then he quietly thanked me as he
took the payment and told me I should probably call
the police when I got home. When we got home
(20:13):
and I had the kids safely inside, I called the
Macon police right away. They listened politely, but when I
offered to bring that weird tool to them later, they
said it wasn't necessary, and from my description and the measurements,
it sounded like specialized surgical shears, which was very unsettling
to hear. I had been careful not to touch any
(20:36):
part of the tool, hoping they could check for fingerprints
if needed, but the officer seemed bored by the story
and wasn't interested. It felt like since there was no
longer an emergency, he thought it wasn't important anymore. He
told me to keep it for a few days, just
in case someone from his office got back to me later.
(21:00):
That was all he said. I wrapped the shears carefully
in newspaper and put them in the brick storage unit
behind our house. They stayed there for several years, untouched,
until we moved. Not wanting to take them with us
across several states, I finally threw them away
I've used Craigslist quite a bit in the past, mostly
to buy and sell different things like furniture, electronics, and
even clothes. But as a woman, I always try to
be extra cautious when I use it. Even though I've
heard some strange and even scary stories about other people's experiences,
I've been pretty lucky so far. I've never had any
(00:43):
real issues, aside from a couple of weird buyers who
made me uneasy. I also enjoy browsing the missed Connections
page now. It's a section where people post about someone
they saw in public but didn't get a chance to
talk to, hoping that the other person might see it.
On a good day. You can find some really funny
(01:04):
posts there, and it's just an entertaining part of the
website overall. Then one day, while I was browsing, I
saw a post titled Hello. The post said, you should
really pay more attention when people are watching you. It
can hurt someone's feelings when they're ignored. You're blonde and petit,
(01:25):
and I like watching you pick out your groceries. I
couldn't help but wonder about that post, especially since I
was also blonde and petit, and I just happened to
be at the grocery store the day before, but it
was probably just some strange coincidence after all. Anyway, I
kept browsing through a few more posts to get my
(01:46):
mind off it, then decided I'd had enough for the
day and logged off. About a week later, I found
myself back at that same grocery store. I was going
through my usual routine, pushing my car down the aisles
and picking up what I needed, not really paying attention
to anything around me. The store wasn't too busy, and
(02:09):
I was just focused on my shopping list. I wasn't
even thinking about that strange post from Craigslist anymore. It
had completely slipped my mind. And with everyone wearing mask now,
it feels like we all just blend in. But this
time I felt like someone was watching me. You know
that feeling when you just know someone's looking at you.
(02:32):
I was in the produce aisle, and when I turned
to look at the other end of the aisle, I
saw a man staring at me. I didn't get a
good look at him at first because I didn't want
to make eye contact for too long. I glanced again,
and his stare felt cold, almost like he was looking
right into my soul. It gave me chills. I stared
(02:56):
back for a few seconds, trying to figure out if
I was imagining things or if there was really something off.
He was wearing a mask like everyone else, but I
could see enough to tell that he was a short, overweight,
middle aged man. I knew this wasn't just a coincidence.
(03:16):
He was definitely focused on me, and it made me
really uneasy. So I grabbed the rest of the items
I needed, barely even thinking about what I was picking up.
I just wanted to get out of there as fast
as I could. I headed straight to the check out,
trying not to look back, and hurried through paying for
(03:36):
my groceries. All I wanted at that moment was to
leave and get somewhere safe. When I got to the
parking lot and started walking to my car, I noticed
that the man from the store was following me. I
turned around and saw him slowly walking towards my car,
which made me speed up my pace. I got into
my car, and as I turned to drive out of
(03:58):
the parking lot, I saw him again. He was just
standing there, staring at me. When I finally got home,
I felt so relieved. That night, I was bored and
decided to browse the Internet for a while. I ended
up back on the missed Connections page that night, just
(04:18):
scrolling through for something interesting. That's when I saw a
post titled nice seeing you. It said I love watching
you in the grocery store, but it was really rude
of you to run away from me in the parking lot.
I just want you to love me. As I read
those words, I could feel my tears started to well
(04:41):
up in my eyes. It all came together in that moment.
Those two posts I had seen earlier, they were about me,
the creepy guy in the store and in the parking lot.
It was him. He had been watching me, and now
he was writing these things online. The fact that he
had followed me and even written about it was terrifying.
(05:04):
It wasn't just some weird coincidence. It was real, and
he was fixated on me, even though I knew it
wasn't a good idea. I replied to the post, demanding
an explanation and threatening to call the police. The reply
I got back made me feel sick. It said I
(05:24):
was waiting for you to reply. It's so good to
finally talk to you, now, we can be together. I
replied again, telling him to leave me alone and that
there was no chance of us ever being together. I
also told him I was going to the police, and
I flagged his post. I stayed up late that night.
(05:47):
Then around two am, I got an email notification. It
was a reply from that guy's email. This time there
was an image attached. The picture was of me in
my kitchen, wearing the same clothes I had on at
that very moment. Oh my god, he was outside my house.
(06:07):
Then I heard a knock at my living room window.
I didn't even think about opening the blinds to look.
I was too scared. But then I heard his voice say,
let me in. We can finally be together. I went
straight into the bathroom and locked the door behind me.
My hands were shaking, but I managed to call nine
(06:30):
one one. I was trying to explain everything to the operator,
but I could barely catch my breath. That's when I
heard it, the sound of the window downstairs shattering. My
whole body went cold. I started screaming, crying harder than
I ever had before. He was trying to calm me down,
(06:53):
telling me to stay on the line and that the
police were on their way, but all I could think
about was that someone was inside my house. I stayed
as quiet as I could, trying to listen for any
sounds downstairs. My heart was pounding and I felt completely trapped.
I had no idea what that man was doing or
(07:16):
if he was coming upstairs. All I could do was
wait and hope that the police would arrive in time.
Suddenly I heard the man right outside the bathroom door,
slamming against it and yelling at me to open up.
Then I heard the sound of police sirens. The man
stopped banging on the door, and I heard him running away.
(07:38):
A few minutes later, the police arrived, but by then
the guy was already gone. I gave the officers my
report and told them everything about the Craigslist post, the
grocery store, and how he had been following me. They
said they would do their best to investigate it. The
(07:58):
investigation is still going on, and right now I'm in
the process of moving to a new place every night.
I'm scared that I might see that guy again, and
I just hope he gets caught soon. One thing is
for sure, I'll never look at the missed connections page again.
(08:27):
This took place about four years ago, right after I
turned eighteen. I can't tell you the name of the
place where I work or exactly where it is, but
I can say it's a store in a busy mall.
Because it's a mall, I meet lots of different people
every day. That day, I was the one opening the store,
(08:49):
so I got there early to make sure everything was ready. Now.
My first task were the usual ones, unlocking the doors,
turning on the lights, and making sure the store looked neat.
After that, I sat at the counter and checked the
emails that came in overnight, replying to the important ones.
(09:11):
It seemed like just a regular morning, but then something
happened that made that day unforgettable. It was a short shift,
since this was just a part time job for me.
I clocked in, worked for four hours, then clocked out
and went to my college classes. Nothing unusual happened that day,
just the regular stuff like helping customers find what they
(09:34):
needed and ringing up their purchases. A few days later,
I was sitting in a restaurant with my boyfriend and
suddenly my phone started buzzing NonStop. The girls in my
work group chat were going crazy over a screenshot they shared.
It was from a post on Craigslist by a man
who mentioned meeting me at my store. The post was
(09:56):
in the missed connections section, where people write about meeting
someone they want to see again. When I opened the picture,
I saw that he was talking about me. He described
how I had helped him find a few items for
his daughter. He said I was friendly and polite, and
that I had rung up his purchases at the register.
(10:17):
I remembered that day clearly, but nothing about the encounter
seemed strange or out of place. He had just seemed
like another regular customer, and I didn't think twice about
it after he left. But seeing his post online made
me realize that maybe it had meant something more to him,
which was a little surprising. As I sat in the
(10:39):
restaurant with my boyfriend, I tried to remember my shift
from a few days ago. I thought about a few
men who it might have been that day. For the
next few weeks at work, I was extra careful. This
was my first job, and since I was only eighteen,
I wasn't used to people always staring at me, or
(11:00):
even worse, following me. This whole experience really shook me up.
And even now I still find myself watching my surroundings
because of what happened. I made some changes. I stopped
wearing a name tag at work so people wouldn't easily
know my name. I also made sure my coworkers understood
(11:22):
not to tell anyone my work schedule. No matter what,
it's better to be safe than sorry. It all just
makes you think about how careful you have to be,
even in what should be a normal job. Before cell
(11:46):
phones were common, I was a mom in my early thirties.
I had just driven my two youngest kids to the doctor.
The pediatrician's office was in Macon, Georgia, about an hour
away from our home. My kids were one, one and
three years old at the time, and we had a
scheduled appointment. Since we lived so far, the office always
(12:07):
gave us the last two appointments of the day, which
we really appreciated. The doctor had just moved into a
new building located on a freshly built part of the highway.
The area was very quiet and isolated, but the new
office was much nicer than his old one. Near the hospital.
There were only four or five cars in the parking lot,
(12:30):
including ours. We were driving a black jeep Cherokee that
we had owned for two years. I pulled up near
the entrance, took the kids out of their car seats,
and went inside. We spent about an hour waiting, then
seeing the doctor, settling the bill, and finally heading back out.
By the time I was putting the kids back in
(12:51):
their car seats to head home, my car was the
only one left in the parking lot. As the receptionist
locked the glass doors. I tried to start the car,
but it wouldn't turn on. Instead, it just made a
strange clicking sound. With no other choice, I got the
kids out of the car again and knocked on the
(13:12):
door until some one led us back inside. I asked
to use their phone to call a near by garage
for help. When I called, the man said he could come,
but it might take some time. I gave him my
location and went back to the car. I rolled down
the windows to keep it cooler and put the kids
(13:33):
back in their seats while we waited. Before long, we
saw all the lights in the building go out. As
everyone left, one by one, their cars drove off from
behind the building, and soon we were completely alone in
the parking lot. Since it was still light outside, I
spent most of the time looking after the kids. I
(13:53):
dug through the car to find snacks in a bottle,
making sure they weren't getting too hot. The service station
attendant had told me it might take a long time,
but I was happy when a truck pulled into the
empty parking lot sooner than expected. A man got out
of his pick up, smiled, nodded at me, and said
(14:15):
he would take a look under the hood. He was
a middle aged man and looked a bit scruffy, but honestly,
many gas station workers looked like that, especially after a
long day. I was just glad he started working under
the hood right away. I sat back down in the
driver's seat with the door open, waiting for him to
(14:37):
tell me to try starting the car. He seemed to
take a long time checking the connections, and I wished
he would just grab the jumper cables, but he never did.
I stayed in the car and asked him what he
thought was wrong. He replied, oh, it's just a loose wire,
not the battery, and kept working. I couldn't see his
(15:00):
face from where I was sitting, but I could see
his hands a little bit through the gap between the
windshield and the raised hood. As we waited more than once,
he said it was just a loose wire and asked
if I could come up here real quick so he
could show me which one it was so it wouldn't
happen again. I remember smiling and shaking my head, telling
(15:24):
him there was no point in showing me because I
didn't know anything about cars, and stayed in the driver's seat.
At one point, I thought he was definitely trying to
flirt with me while talking, but I wanted to stay
polite and kind since he was helping us. We were
tired and miserable, and I was mostly focused on the kids. Oddly,
(15:46):
he started sounding a bit frustrated because I wouldn't get
out of the car to look at the engine. I
remember thinking I didn't want to upset him in case
he decided to leave us there alone, especially since the
sun was setting so quickly. Then something very strange happened.
Another truck pulled into the empty parking lot. As soon
(16:08):
as it did, the man working on my car quickly
slammed the hood shut, ran to his truck, started it,
and drove away fast without even saying goodbye. I felt
both confused and a bit worried because I had no
idea who was arriving. Now. I remember feeling a bit
scared that he had left me alone so suddenly, especially
(16:30):
with my two little kids. Why wouldn't he stay and
at least talked to the person who had just parked
next to us. That seemed like the polite thing to do.
As soon as I stepped out, the man introduced himself,
and his name and voice matched the person I had
talked to on the phone earlier. He even called me
by name, apologized for being late, and smiled. Then he
(16:55):
looked towards the road, pointing and asked me who the
man was that had just left so quickly. Feeling relieved,
I smiled in surprise and said, well, I don't know.
I thought he was you this whole time. We both
laughed a little, and then he grabbed jumper cables, walked
(17:15):
to the front of my car, opened the hood, and
started working. I quickly sat back in the driver's seat,
feeling grateful that hopefully the air conditioner would be running soon,
while waiting to hear him say try it now, I
had my back turned checking on the kids. Then he
surprised me by suddenly coming to the driver's side door,
(17:38):
and in an odd voice, he said, ma'am, is this yours?
I looked at his hands and saw he was holding
a long, thin, daggerlike tool about a foot and a
half long. One end had small round finger holes, like
a strange mix between a long, thin sword and scissors.
(18:01):
I remember being surprised, but not scared, so I asked
where he had found it. Then he said he found
it under the hood. I replied simply that I had
never seen it before. He just stood there staring at
the tool and even seemed a bit pale, like he
couldn't find the words to say anything for a moment.
(18:23):
But honestly, I didn't care about it at all. All
I wanted was for him to get the car started
so I could pay him and leave. He didn't say
anything else, started his truck and then signaled for me
to start the jeep. Feeling grateful, I quickly turned the
air conditioner on full blast, rolled up the windows, and
(18:45):
pointed the air vents toward the back seat for the kids.
I reached for my purse to pay him, got out
of the car and took a few steps towards him
to hear how much I owed With both our vehicles running.
He came around to my driver's side, but instead of
giving me the bill, he walked right past me and
picked up that strange tool again. Ma'am, I want you
(19:09):
to look at this one more time, and he held
it out for me to see up close. This time,
I moved closer and really looked at it. It still
looked very large, almost like a bayonet, except for the
small two loops on one end. As he held it,
he spoke quietly and slowly, like he was trying hard
(19:30):
to help me understand something I was still missing. They
hadn't been there very long at all, because they were
sitting right on top. They must have just been put there.
I shook my head and half smiled, saying, but they're
obviously very old and rusty. He pointed at them and said, yeah,
but look how sharp they are. It looks like they've
(19:51):
just been sharpened. As I paid him, his last words
to me were, ma'am, I don't know what was about
to happen here, but I'm really glad I showed up
when I did. Then he quietly thanked me as he
took the payment and told me I should probably call
the police when I got home. When we got home
(20:13):
and I had the kids safely inside, I called the
Macon police right away. They listened politely, but when I
offered to bring that weird tool to them later, they
said it wasn't necessary, and from my description and the measurements,
it sounded like specialized surgical shears, which was very unsettling
to hear. I had been careful not to touch any
(20:36):
part of the tool, hoping they could check for fingerprints
if needed, but the officer seemed bored by the story
and wasn't interested. It felt like since there was no
longer an emergency, he thought it wasn't important anymore. He
told me to keep it for a few days, just
in case someone from his office got back to me later.
(21:00):
That was all he said. I wrapped the shears carefully
in newspaper and put them in the brick storage unit
behind our house. They stayed there for several years, untouched,
until we moved. Not wanting to take them with us
across several states, I finally threw them away
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