I love horror podcasts, what could be more interesting than that? I figured out that soon enough, real-life horror podcasts, one of those true encounter’s ones, where people come across weird people or in some cases downright terrifying people. Either way, I was hooked on it. I’d listen to it whenever I’d get the chance before bed or whenever I’d ride my bike or go for a walk.
For some reason, it was way better than any thriller movie because these were real people who escaped real-life situations and we’re here to tell their stories. It seemed unreal that there were so many of them and at some point, I thought that it might be fake, but everything seems unrealistic until it happens to you. The podcast had episodes from stalkers to killers, to would-be kidnappers and it always surprised me how easily they all manage to escape because for their victims getting away from them was enough, it never seemed to matter that they were still walking free.
Anyways it’s all just a podcast, why worry about it? I’d never come across someone like this. But I laid awake one night, rifling through the memories in my mind when I realized even, I had just walked away, glad to be free.
Meeting
It was during the second year of my college when I came across him, there was a sports meet being held in our college and there was a stream of students steadily flowing into our block. Being an introvert, I decided to stand a bit apart from all the proceedings, so it was no great surprise that one of my friends noticed him before I did.
“Hey! Is that guy waving at you?” She asked me as she discreetly pointed toward a guy in the crowd. I looked and sure enough, a guy was standing in the crowd and waving toward me as though he wanted to flag my attention, but I just ignored him and moved on.
Then I noticed a pattern wherein he’d started popping up randomly wherever I was and waving at me or trying to get my attention in different ways.
I ignored it all, and soon I couldn’t.
Stalked
Things started getting weird, he started popping up more randomly and persistently. I remember being in the lab once – all the labs are separated from one other with a thin piece of glass – and looking over at the lab beside us when I saw him there again, waving. Feeling irritated and frustrated I looked away and that’s when he started knocking, persistently. I continued to ignore him, but the sound of the knocking grew louder, attracting my friend’s attention who asked me what was going on.
Trying to not attract any more curious gazes, I pleaded with her to be quiet and just focus on completing our work so that we could leave quickly. She took one look at my pale face and agreed to it without any arguments.
We finished without any further incidents and left the lab. I breathed a sigh of relief thinking that was the end of it.
It wasn’t.
…
I used to take the college bus home daily and would leave as soon as the final bell rang to grab a seat since it was always crowded. That was when I noticed he was standing there, this time with his bike, I thought perhaps he was going home but when the bus left, I noticed him trailing behind it. He was trying to follow me home, my throat dried up in fear, how could he do this?
Not wanting to lead him anywhere near where I lived, I decided to get down a few stops ahead of mine close to a friend’s place in a crowded area and decided to walk home after I was sure he was gone.
Now, I was furious. There was no way I was going to allow him to bully me. I decided to complain to the head of my department.
I told her everything and asked for her help and her only response was, “You’re a pretty girl, you should get used to this.”
Feeling thoroughly disgusted at her and feeling confused if it was my fault for inviting this trouble I left back to class.
Escalation
My entire second year was a blur after that. Things had slowed down for a while. I was happy thinking it was done but that’s when the messages started.
I was never really interested in social media but my friends had forced me to join it one such night when I was texting one of my friends I received a message from an unknown number asking how I was doing and when I enquired who it was he told me he was the person I was ignoring.
Feeling completely at a loss as to how to respond I chose to block him but that just made him more determined and he started messaging from multiple accounts. Now completely overwhelmed I chose to deactivate my account.
This only solved the messaging issue though and I still did not know how to manage things on campus so I chose to stick close to my friends and keep my head down.
The funniest part of all this was, I did not know who he was except a senior.
Coda
Exams were over our heads and we were all in a state of panic, I spent most of my time managing my anxiety and reviewing notes. A week before our practical exams we had to submit our lab records and since I was out sick mine was pending so during a break period I decided to go and submit my records.
My friend and I made our way toward the staff room which was a little away from our block and situated on the second floor. My friend refused to climb the stairs and instead chose to wait for me outside. It would take only a few minutes I thought and quickly made my way toward the staff room and dropped off my record and started making my way down the stairs when an arm grabbed hold of me.
I froze in panic, it was him. What? How? Where? The words repeated in my head, the other set of stairs I thought numbly. Each block had two sets of stairs.
There are many things I’ll forget about but the creepy smile on his face isn’t one of them.
“Why do you keep ignoring me?” He asked.
I couldn’t muster a single word.
“Tell me.” He insisted.
“Let me go,” I said calmly, not wanting to make things worse. My eyes darted about the corridor, there was no one there.
“Not until you accept my love.” His hand tightened on my arm. I stared at him dumbfounded. His love? Was he completely insane?
Furious, I yelled this time, “Let me go!”
I yanked my hand and speedily made my way down the stairs almost colliding with my friend who was running up the stairs having heard my shout.
Gasping I told her what had transpired, and we both left the block quickly.
..
My paranoia was all over the place now, I started finding gifts randomly left all over the place, and I threw them in the bin without even opening them. Things started going missing, I lost my scarf during a class but later found it wrapped around his neck when I went to the bus and I was getting even creepier messages on my phone, one of them asking what shampoo I used.
At my wit’s end, I told my grandparents who were very supportive and decided to come along with me when I went to classes every morning which put an end to his weird obsession with trying to follow me home.
..
Things again went quiet for a while, the last time I saw him was when I was leaving the country, he tried following me to the airport. The messages tapered off after that, I changed my number too. I stopped feeling panicky every time I checked the phone.
The last I heard he had moved somewhere else too.
Either way, I don’t care.
Creepy stalker guy, let’s not meet again.
