When this woman entered the local metro line from work to home, she had no idea that her life would change forever.
It was just a simple trip from A to B, but this particular trip would turn into a nightmare in a hurry. It all had to do with a man on board who couldn’t stop staring at her. When she found out why, tears were streaming down her face.
It started out as just a typical day for the 30-year-old Becky. She was done with her shift at work and entered the metro station. The platform where the public transport vehicles zoned past was a familiar sight for Becky. It indicated that her workday was over and her private life could begin. But on this day, things turned out quite differently.
Becky stepped into the crowded metro, unaware of what was about to happen. The metro was packed with people, like it usually was at this time of day. Becky didn’t mind, though. She just stood in the far corner of the train carriage and minded her own business. That was what most people did on the metro anyway. The tired Becky saw men and women glued to their phones, while others stared out the window. But then her eyes fell on a singular man in the back. It was a short-haired, middle-aged man. He looked ordinary, just the kind of man who would blend into a crowd of people—except that this man kept staring in Becky’s direction.
At first, Becky figured that he must have been looking at something behind her, but when she followed his gaze, there was no one there. That’s when she realized that he was staring at her. Becky gave the man an uncomfortable smile in return. With that smile, Becky hoped he would realize she had noticed him so he would stop his invasive stare. But that action, unfortunately, did not give her the desired result. The strange man just kept staring at her without blinking once. It made Becky feel extremely uncomfortable. She put in her earplugs and tried to ignore the man.
When Becky arrived at her stop, he appeared to be gone, but on her way home, Becky constantly felt that eyes were upon her. It was like someone was constantly watching, no matter how many streets she walked down. A feeling of unease washed over the already nervous woman. But every time Becky looked over her shoulder, she came up blank. There was never anyone around. So, Becky eventually told herself she was just imagining things.
But this wasn’t the end of it.
Becky continued with her day as normally as possible. She tried some light reading and ended with a movie, but every time she tried to focus on these simple distractions, her mind returned to that man’s face. It got so bad that the next day, when Becky needed to return to work, she dreaded the metro trip there. And rightfully so, because the moment she entered the train, the same man was there again.
Becky felt her heart beating in her chest as she saw that the same man was staring at her the entire time once again. What did he want from her? It was unnerving. And even though the train was full of people who shielded her from the man, the sense of unsafety filled the poor woman’s body. That’s why, when Becky finally arrived at work, she was ecstatic because this controlled environment felt safe.
Becky got on with her day fine after that. She helped people with their problems, and when doing so, Becky hoped that this day would never end. That, unfortunately, was not the case. The hours seemed to fly by, and before Becky knew it, her shift had ended, and that meant that the safety net provided by her work did too.
Becky needed to go home, which meant another metro trip. Becky stayed as long as she could, and when she eventually mustered enough courage, she left the building. She made her way over to the metro station as quickly as possible, hoping not to encounter the same man again. But the moment Becky entered the metro, she saw him again.
He was standing at the same spot he was in yesterday and that morning, and his eyes were instantly fixated on her. Becky ignored him as much as she could. “Maybe if I close myself off, he will be gone again when my stop arrives,” she whispered to herself. But this time was different, because when the metro reached her final stop, he wasn’t gone from her line of sight.
No, quite the opposite. When Becky left the metro, he did so too, which added a new level of tension to her already stressful situation. This was new, and Becky did not like this development. The prying eyes Becky felt on her way home yesterday now sported a face that followed her every move.
Becky quickened her steps as she tried to leave the platform in a hurry, but to no avail. Becky saw that the man was walking behind her every time she looked over her shoulder. He kept his distance but followed her the entire time. Becky got into her head and convinced herself it was a coincidence. He probably used the same metro and got out at the same stop because he also needed to visit a place around her. Yes, that must be it. But that thought did not last long, unfortunately.
Becky had just left the station and hurried her journey home. It was a 15-minute walk, but Becky was determined to do it in half the time. The nervous Becky felt her leg muscles burning as she tried to make it home in record time.
With each corner she passed, she hoped that the man would not be there when she turned around. But after making it around four blocks of houses, the man was still there. He kept following her and stayed approximately 100 feet behind her, never coming closer but always matching her speed. “What does he want from me?” Becky quickened her steps once more.
At this point, she was almost jogging, which looked awkward to people she passed. She had a warm winter coat on and held two heavy leather bags filled with rattling stuff in her hands. She wasn’t exactly dressed for a workout, but Becky didn’t care. She longed for the safe environment of her home, and she wanted to leave the intrusive man in her rearview mirror.
But no matter how much effort Becky put into getting some distance between herself and the scary man, he kept following her, and he kept the same 100-foot distance the entire time. Whenever Becky stopped, he would also stop and just wander around the sidewalk. And whenever Becky would sprint, he would do the same. “There is no denying it anymore. He is following me home,” Becky spoke out loud.
Becky had had enough. She needed help because this man wasn’t going away. So, when the nervous woman looked over her shoulder one last time and saw the piercing eyes of the short-haired individual, she grabbed her phone from her bag.
She needed to call the police and tell them that she was being threatened while walking. Looking forward, Becky fumbled around trying to find her phone. She had already pressed 911. Becky was ready to press the call button to speak to someone willing to help, but right before her finger pressed down, something happened. Becky was so distracted by the commotion that she did not pay attention to where she was walking, and that’s when an uneven street tile made her fall over. Becky tumbled forward and just managed to catch herself in time, but her phone wasn’t so lucky.
The disoriented Becky got back to her feet as quickly as she could and reached for her phone on the ground. Luckily, the device was still intact and had no scratch on it, but the situation also gave the mysterious man enough time to gain ground on her. Becky turned her head anxiously, hoping the man wasn’t within striking distance. But when she finally turned around, he seemed to have vanished. This was all getting too much to bear, but Becky did not have time to dwell on it. Her house was just 600 feet away, so she knew one last sprint would be enough to make it over there in one piece. Becky took a deep breath and started running as fast as she could.
With the man gone from view, she made it to her apartment. Was she finally safe now? Becky seemed to think so. Her apartment was the safest place to be, she thought. It had a door that could be locked, and when she closed the curtains to the outside world, it was like she was in her own safe nest. After Becky locked herself inside her apartment, she dimmed most of the lights so it looked like no one was home. But all her efforts turned out to be in vain because the moment Becky’s heart rate finally calmed down a bit, something happened that she did not expect.
The nervous woman walked up to her window and peeked through the small gap that was left in the curtains. When she did, she immediately regretted her decision because right across the street from her apartment, she saw the man again. He was just standing there, staring up at her home. Becky released a small sigh out of pure fright and immediately grabbed her phone.
She needed to call the police for real this time. It was something she had already planned to do on her journey home, but the fact that the stranger followed her all the way over here was reason enough to get some backup.
She dialed the number for the local police once more while never losing sight of the man. The phone rang, and after about 30 seconds, a police operator appeared on the other end of the line. Becky’s voice was panicky, and the operator tried calming the scared woman down. After he managed to do that, Becky explained her dire situation. She talked about her encounters in the metro and explained how everything led her to this very call. The police officer understood and promised to send someone over.
Becky placed her phone on the dining room table
when the call ended. The fact that police officers were on their way gave Becky a sense of relief. Backup was on their way, and Becky waited nervously for the uniformed men to arrive. The operator said that it would take about 15 minutes for the police to get there, but the man appeared to be gone when she peeked out the window after 10 minutes.
The wait for the police was nerve-wracking, especially with the man across the street being gone. So, when the doorbell finally rang after 15 minutes, Becky ran toward her apartment door. The anxious woman unlocked all the hinges that kept the door closed and turned the key counterclockwise.
But when the door to her home flew open, Becky was left in shock because it was not the police who stood there. Becky’s heart skipped a beat, and not in a good way, because she suddenly looked into the eyes of the strange man again. He didn’t leave but had made his way up to her apartment somehow.
Becky stood frozen in place and did not know how to react. She debated whether to scream at the top of her lungs or slam the door as fast as she could. Fear overtook her. The man did not do anything; he just stood there silently. But when Becky finally broke free from her fearful trance and started closing the door, he made a move.
The man placed his left foot between the door and the doorpost, preventing the apartment door from slamming all the way shut. And that’s when he broke the silence and spoke. “Please, listen to me. I desperately need your help,” the man said.
Becky looked at the man in utter confusion. Fear was still clearly visible on her face, and it seemed the man also noticed this. His muteness up to this point made him extra scary, but now that he finally spoke in a soft voice, it calmed Becky down somehow. She couldn’t explain it, but the man came across as friendly in a way.
“Why did you follow me?” Becky asked with a shaky voice. The man had eyes filled with tears as he continued to speak. “I can’t explain in words why I’m here. I can only tell you that it’s essential that you help me. Please, Becky, you have to trust me.” Becky saw tears streaming down the stranger’s face, making his tough exterior from before feel much softer.
The man was begging Becky to listen to his plea, and Becky listened intently. The man’s words took Becky back, and not only because he was asking desperately for her help. What caught her by surprise the most was that this complete stranger knew her by name.
Becky stared into the stranger’s eyes and asked him how he knew who she was. “Sorry, Mister, but all of this is really freaking me out.” The stranger understood her reservations but asked again to trust him. For any sane person, some desperate words from a stranger wouldn’t be enough to provoke trust. But something about the way this man carried himself made Becky believe him.
Becky had always been a person who trusted quickly, so she hoped that this leap of faith wouldn’t backfire. But there was no going back now. She agreed to trust him. The man asked her to follow him as a response. Becky agreed to the man’s offer and grabbed her coat while he waited at the door opening. They left the building together and walked down the streets.
It still felt strange to Becky, and she tightly gripped her phone in her pocket during their walk together, just to be sure. During their walk, the man revealed that his name was David. He also said that the two of them had met in person before. When David revealed this fact, Becky looked up at the man in confusion. She didn’t remember ever seeing his face before, so this revelation surprised her.
Becky was captivated by David and asked him where this previous meetup occurred. David smiled faintly when she asked her question and explained that they first met in the hospital where Becky worked as a nurse. “I came in for an appointment a couple of weeks ago,” David explained. Becky was the nurse who had helped him in the hospital. He came in sad and fearful, and while all other staff members seemed to treat him like a number, Becky was the only one who was friendly and helpful.
“And that’s why I followed you. When I saw you in the metro, I knew you were the only one who could help me. I don’t know who else to turn to.” Becky listened to David’s explanation intently and tried to remember. She saw hundreds of patients every week, so most of them blurred into one. Becky scratched her head as she tried to focus on David’s face, and then a light went off inside of her.
“I remember now, but you were not in the hospital for yourself, were you?” Becky stated. David smiled, but the young nurse also saw that tears were swelling up in his eyes again. This was clearly an emotional question for him; she could tell. David wiped his eyes and confirmed that this was true. “I wasn’t the one who needed medical attention back then, and I’m not the one who needs your help right now.”
David stopped when they arrived at an old townhouse. “We’re here.” David opened the door to the home and invited Becky to step inside. For a moment, the young nurse hesitated. Was she really about to enter an enclosed environment with a man she barely knew? She looked up at David, who was at least a full head taller than she was. But right before her heart rate shot up again, a voice was heard from inside the house. “David, is that you, my boy?” The voice that came from within the home was the sole reason he followed Becky, and the only reason she was at his place right now.
David started crying, and the sight of this large man breaking down was enough for Becky to pity him. She agreed to come inside and stepped over the threshold. The house was very minimal, but when she entered the living room, she saw an elderly man. The old man lay in a worn-down hospital bed. Becky recognized it from her earlier years in intensive care. She estimated that he was around 70 years old, but he appeared much older at first glance. The man was pale like a corpse and was shaking immensely. It was a sad sight, even for a nurse who saw many sick people daily.
“Who is this lovely girl, David?” the old man asked. The old man pushed his frail body upwards into a seated position to gaze upon Becky a bit better. His movements were slow, and they seemed to hurt him. David quickly rushed into the room when he saw the old man struggle. “Dad, don’t push yourself.
I will help you.” While David lifted his father, he also introduced Becky. He explained that she was from the hospital, and she was here to help. Becky looked at the duo with pain in her heart. “Hello, Mister. Yes, my name is Becky, but I’m not sure yet how I can help you.” Becky looked at David with questioning eyes, unsure of what to do.
David then explained that his father had a rare condition that implicated his mobility and vital organ functions. It got progressively worse over the last 12 months, and they visited many hospitals because of it. But there was a problem. Even though David’s father desperately needed help, and most hospitals agreed to meet with them, the visits always seemed to stop after that first initial visit.
The old man needed very expensive and highly experimental treatment for his illness, and since both David’s and his father’s insurance didn’t cover the procedure, they were always sent home with negative news. They were at their wit’s end. Hospitals were reluctant to help the father-son duo, and while those medical facilities kept on rolling, David saw his father’s condition worsen every day.
“It was like none of those places took us seriously,” David said with the saddest tone Becky ever heard. David said there was only one bright light in that entire year, and apparently, it was Becky. “You were the only one who was genuinely concerned and interested in my father.” Becky looked at the frail old man with a worried look. She found their story to be extremely sad, but she was lost on how to help in their situation. She was just a simple nurse in a hospital that also rejected them. David grabbed Becky’s hand and begged her to take another look into his case. Maybe there was something else she could do. If not, the old man was as good as dead.
This was all getting too much for the young nurse. Just a few moments ago, she feared for her life while running from a stranger, and now she was in the house of that same man getting the request to save his dying father’s life. Becky broke down in tears and agreed that the healthcare system failed this poor old man.
We can’t leave him to his fate, but I don’t know how to help.” Becky rubbed her temples, trying to think of a solution to this dire situation. She knew she couldn’t do much alone, but she promised to do everything she could to find help. “I can’t guarantee anything, but I will see what I can do,” Becky stated. Maybe some of her colleagues knew a way around the medical system—a way to at least make this poor old man’s life manageable.
Becky went home after that statement, and that very same evening, she hung on the phone with her best friend and colleague, Monica. The much older nurse had worked in the hospital for years and knew all the ins and outs of the place.
But even though the story reverberated with her immensely, she also had to admit that she did not see how she could help David and his father. Becky was already expecting negative news from her friend but wanted to try anyway. After that, she called some other hospital staff members but got the same disappointing response every time. The only thing Becky could now do was hope for a miracle.
The young nurse felt guilty for not being able to help David’s father, so
to make up for it, she went by every day to provide daily pain relief. It was the only thing she could do for the poor old man because Becky knew that outside help wasn’t coming. The young nurse took painkillers home from work and gave them to David’s father daily. It eventually became a full routine where she cared for the old man’s every need.
But after a few weeks, she knew she had to pull the plug. She saw David’s father’s pain and saw it was getting worse. Becky remembered the day when she had to bring the bad news vividly. It was Thursday, and it was raining severely. The gloomy weather fit the mood she was in because she was about to break the news that her care was ending. This was never a long-term solution, but Becky hoped that her help would provide longer comfort than this.
When Becky rang David’s doorbell, she expected a sad face. But when David opened up and saw Becky, he was all smiles. Clearly, he had information she was unaware of, and Becky wanted to know what it was. “What is going on, David? Why are you smiling?” the curious nurse asked. But David did not answer her question. He simply invited her inside and offered the young nurse some celebratory cake.
“Cake? What are we celebrating?” Becky did not understand, but even after that question, David did not answer. He was good at being mysterious; Becky knew that much, but this was just getting weird. The smiling David put down his cake after a few bites and hugged the confused nurse intensely. He said they would never have managed to pull this off without her help.
Still, Becky had no idea what the smiling David was talking about. “What is all of this?” David then explained to Becky that his father was selected for the special treatment that could save his life—the one he was rejected from by multiple hospitals. “But how is this possible? You weren’t insured for that, and you definitely can’t pay for the treatment.
David walked over to the computer and showed Becky a very special email. Apparently, Becky’s calls to the hospital had more impact than she originally thought because after she hung up the phone with her colleague, the story spread like wildfire. Staff members told other people, and eventually, the story made its way to the newspaper.
David opened up the news article on his browser and showed the entirety of the story to Becky. It was the entire heartbreaking story and more because it also had a call out for help to anyone willing at the bottom of the article. And as if by a miracle, that call out worked. “Just this morning, we received an email from a wealthy donor who was willing to help my father with the treatment. He doesn’t want anything in return. He was just simply moved by our story—a story that would have never made it to the press if you didn’t help.” David smiled and cried at the same time, and afterward, he hugged Becky once more. Becky couldn’t believe it. “Miracles do happen, I guess,” was the only thing she said.
Shortly after Becky’s visit, David’s father’s treatment commenced. The old man was nervous because his frail condition made it even harder to get out of bed, let alone go to a hospital. But the old man mustered the strength to go with David and Becky by his side. And it was a good thing that he did because the treatment was a great success. David’s father only needed one surgery to provide the initial boost toward his recovery, and afterward, a medicine trial of at least six months. David’s father was allowed to go home the very same day, and Becky was already waiting for him when he got there. She promised to provide daily care during his recovery period, and so a beautiful time together commenced.
David’s father recovered quickly and effortlessly from his surgery, and with the new experimental medicine trial and excellent care from Becky, he felt better in no time. After about a month, Becky only needed to stop by once a week to give the old man his injection, and every time she came by, she saw major improvements. So much so that after the six months were up, Becky’s help was no longer required. The happy and satisfied nurse did come by every once in a while, though, but when she did, she wore her casual clothes. Becky had become great friends with both men during her time of care and loved coming over for coffee and a chat. David and his father were always happy to see her because she was their friend and savior. None of this would have happened if Becky had not trusted a stranger.
