Look Out for One Another

(Note: There's a scene where a robbery occurs.)

It’s not safe for a grown woman to be walking home by herself. I don’t have any choice in the matter, as my workplace is ten minutes away from my house and my car got repossessed because of some screwed up financial crap that happened, so I couldn’t make a payment on my car last month. I packed a whole bunch of self-defense tools in my purse. I had a good excuse to walk in a wonderful time in the evening with the full moon. I look up to the sky, the clouds obscured some part of the moon, and with the color of blue and red—the in between of the day and night—it’s as though something that would normally happen in a fiction story could happen in front of me at any moment. The excitement of that thought thrilled me with the mundane parts of life beginning to lose all sense of color.

         The streetlamps were on, letting light on the scenery around me. I look to my right, following the line of the hill slopping high above me, getting higher as I continue walking. I scanned in front of me to my left, some of the houses had their lights on, one of them had someone in full view of a window doing their dishes. The light of day was fading, but at least it didn’t feel eerie. As I near my house, it’s going to be that way. That’s normally when I would speed up, but right now, I don’t feel too unsafe strolling down the street. I begin to lose myself in my thoughts, and enjoy the reclusive, comforting world around me. Most evenings when I walk home, I keep returning to the thought of wishing I could do this often even when I do have a car.

         As I got near my house, a jovial laugh got louder and louder. I scowled and looked around me to find the source of the noise, but reluctant to actively search for it. The sound itself wasn’t threatening. An image of a serial killer having too much fun with their victims came to mind. It wouldn’t have taken too much looking, I came to find, as a man stood in front of the forest at a higher elevation shooting a confident pose, laughing to the sky. I had no idea what the man was laughing about, so the image of the serial killer became a little clearer, so the desire to sneak past him became a whole lot stronger. I kept my hand in my purse to hold onto the pepper spray bottle. The man laughed for some while, before he calmed down right around when I stood at his line of sight.

         “Oh,” he said, his voice loud enough to be heard from the next town over, “hello there! Why is a young lady like you walking home alone this time of night?”

         I couldn’t outright say I didn’t have a car. Then the man would know I couldn’t get away easily if I ran to my home.

         “My brother is working on my car at home,” I replied. “It’s not too far from here.”

         I don’t have a brother, but at least I brought up a man was at home which I could easily run to. The man’s smile was huge. He crossed his arms and made his way down to the edge of the dirt road.

         “If you wouldn’t mind,” the man said, “I want to walk with you to your home. Even if there’s someone at home, I don’t like the idea of leaving you alone even if there are a few miles from safety. You don’t know what could happen you know.”

         “That’s…That’s okay,” I said.

         That’s when he took note with a frown of how I had a hand in my purse, and a pose hinting that I would be ready to run at a moment’s notice.

         “Ah…” he said, “I’m sorry, I…” The man took two steps back away from me, now standing off the road. “Of course, I’m a strange man you met on the side of the road. I know this isn’t much of a comfort, but I don’t mean you any harm.”

         “What are you doing near a forest at this time of night?”

         The man chuckled, “Well, I’ve been running. I’ve been trying to better my time and all that, and I was able to.” He looked like he was contemplating something, and then an awkward smile crossed his face. “I guess my accomplishment got the better of me. I’m sorry that I scared you.”

I made a noncommittal sound, “I’m sorry, I have to get going now.”

The man gave a wry smile. “Right. Have a good night,” then he inclined his head.

When I got home, I grabbed some things in the fridge to make dinner and lunch for tomorrow and saw that I’m running out of several things. It’s a little more out of the way, but there’s a gas station near the path I walk home on. I typed the list on my phone, ate dinner and went to bed. I kept thinking about the man I met tonight. I didn’t think any of it at the time, but his hair was dyed and styled in a way that reminded me of a flame. All things considered he didn’t seem all too bad, and backed off as soon as he realized I was wary of him, which is a good sign. I think I can ask him to get a coffee with me if I see him again. If he lives close by, it wouldn’t hurt to have a friend.

The way from my work to my house is a straight shot, but the gas station has me going fifteen minutes off of the path. Work already tired me out, so walking all that way made my feet hurt. Still, I made sure to get everything I need. It might get annoying trying to carry everything home in addition to the other fifteen minutes I have to walk back. Now here is a con of having no car in the evenings: walking a whole lot after work. Yay.

I browsed the refrigerated items when I heard something that made me freeze.

“Put it in the bag now!” A man’s voice yelled.

Some people cried out, and I turned to see people cower away by a man standing in front of the cash register. By the panic, and the pale, fear-stricken face of the cashier, the man most likely had a gun. The man harassed the man, yelling at him to hurry up along with a lot of swear words thrown at him. When the man started to glance around, despite knowing he won’t look behind his back, I dove to floor behind the aisle’s. I could hear my heartbeat and I was on the verge of tears. I sat there with my knees to my chest and my hands over my ears, in case of a gunshot, until I heard police sirens. I ran out as soon as humanly possible after making my statement, like everyone else. I went as far away from the gas station as I could manage, finding myself back on the path I took home. I collapsed on the side and hugged my knees.

I knew the best way to feel safe was to go straight home, but the fear that racked my body along with my already tired body makes it hard to walk farther. I sat there crying.  

“Hey,” a man’s voice got my attention. The tone of his voice was placating. “Are you doing okay?

I raised my eyes to the man I met last night. He bent over a bit to be somewhat at my level. His expression had concern in them.

“No,” I said, too stressed to try and lie, “A man robbed the gas station while I tried getting groceries.”

He stood at his full height, his eyebrows rising in surprise, “Oh no. I’m so sorry you have to go through that.”

“I have a bunch of self-defense tools in my purse! Now I have to get a gun? In this day and age, I have to have a whole arsenal in my purse to be safe?”

“Hey, hey. No, you don’t,” he sat near me by the curb. “You didn’t get hurt right? The police came, didn’t they?” The man looked like he was sure at first, but then his question became more genuine near the end,

I nodded.

“Then, no more worrying!”

I looked at his grinning face. He was a stranger, but he was kind enough to try and comfort me. Even though I’m a cautious person, I don’t think I felt unsafe with him. At the time, it was simply because kind strangers can be the most dangerous. A friend in the neighborhood would make me feel safer…

“Hey,” I said. I couldn’t speak any louder from all my crying. “What’s your name?” I laughed a little, “This is twice I ran into you, and I don’t know what your name is.”

The man looked happy at what the conversation went to. “My name’s Barry.”

“Odette,” I said. I extended my hand and Barry gladly took it. “Thanks for comforting me.”

“No problem.”

“Can I ask you for a favor?”

He gave me an enthusiastic confirmation, and I asked him my question. He was more than willing to walk me home tonight, and offered food that I couldn’t get at the store. I didn’t exactly need the food tonight, but I don’t think I’ll be going back to the same gas station that I went to despite the guy getting caught. Barry offered to go to the store for me, saying I could pay him back once I got the groceries. I told him that it wouldn’t be long until my car is all fixed, and I didn’t want to bother him with something like that. We argued about it for a while until he caved with a wry smile. I  led him to my house, now telling him that I actually lived alone. He wasn’t bothered that I lied to him, understanding why I did it. He raised some concerns with how isolated my home was, and I learned that he was only 5 minutes away. He does not want me walking home anymore and let me know I could call on him anytime.

Barry became a really good friend, and I even went with him when he gone running. After several years, I considered him one of my best friends. I would be invited to his wedding, and I would invite him to mine, and we even threw a friend’s giving at one point. I didn’t get in anymore dangerous situations after that one time, but I still considered it a good thing that I met Barry. I’m hoping one of these years our children would be friends with one another, too.