Even if you feel safe, close your window

When I was around 7 my father passed away, so my mom moved me and my older brother to another state. It was close to our grandma and grandpa, but it wasn't the best area. We barely made it by, we lived in an apartment, so a lot of the times my mom was gone from morning to evening with work, and she couldn't always find a babysitter. So I would sit outside on my windowsill, and read. I was really into the Harry Potter books at the time. So that was my life, I read a lot.<br><br>One day, I was sitting at the window. My mom left a few hours prior, she was working late, and my brother was with his friends. I was about 6 floors up, and all of a sudden, close to 7 o'clock I started to feel like something was off. I eventually noticed that there was a man, no older than 30 standing way below, looking straight at me. He started waving, and just staring at me. I was so scared. I started to panic so I just closed my window. I never felt so uncomfortable in my life. I didn't even want to open it a crack, so I could just read like I always did. I didn't even want to look near it. I had a really bad feeling, so I just went inside my room and shut the door. I was going crazy. I had to go to sleep at 10, because my mom didn't want me to stay up late, but my brother was already asleep by then. So I fell asleep, and when my mom came home, I told her that I saw a man looking at me. She didn't really think it was a big deal, she just told me to close the curtains so I don't have to see it, and we left it at that.<br><br>#Edit: I know my mom sounds like a horrible mother, but she was extremely stressed, and depressed, and she wasn't in her right mind. She's doing better now, and she's my closest friend. She's the love of my life. <br><br>The next day, I couldn't stop thinking about him. He was all I thought about. I just couldn't shake the feeling. It was just so weird. He seemed to know that it was me in the window. I just couldn't shake it. That's all I kept thinking about, even at school, and all I kept thinking about was how it could be my only chance to see him. It didn't feel right. That's all I felt. It didn't feel right. It was like a red flag that I couldn't ignore. It felt like my gut was telling me to watch out. So I blocked out all of my friends at school, because I really wanted to catch him. I didn't even focus on class, so when 3 o'clock hit, I ran home. I ran so my brother wouldn't see me and ask what I was doing, and I eventually made my way around the block, and I climbed a tree, so I could see if that man was still lurking. I sat in the tree, and close to 6 o'clock, I see the man from yesterday walking towards our building. I felt a cold rush of blood, and it confirmed my worst fears. I was right, he was coming for me. It felt like my stomach was in my throat. He stood on the side, and kept looking up. My heart sank, because I knew he was looking for me. I felt a wave of all these different feelings, I was so confused. I even started to cry, because<br>I just felt so scared, that's when he started looking around him. He looked at every place he could possibly be hiding, and I heard him mutter<br><br>"Were the fuck is she?"<br><br>He was looking for me. I felt my stomach turn. I saw tears of fear fall from my eyes, because at this point I knew. He was looking for me. He was going to hurt me. It hit me like a brick wall. I had to tell someone. I had to tell the police, because he was coming for me. I felt my heart pound in my chest as I started to go down the tree. I eventually got down, and I ran. As I ran, I saw in the corner of my eye him turning around, but he was too late. I got to the police station, and I told them everything. They were shocked, and they asked me what he looked like. I told them his height, that he was skinny, wearing a black sweater and pants, he had black hair, and blue eyes. They told me that they would look, but they weren't sure they could catch him. I was sad, but I eventually got home. I told my mom everything, and now she was finally worried, and angry that she didn't take my concern seriously the first time. So my brother eventually came home, and my mom told him everything. He was so angry, and worried, that he didn't go to school, he stayed home and guarded me. He made sure I was safe. A few hours eventually passed, and the police called, and told us that they found him. It really just made it all the more real. He was really after me, and the police really caught him. They told me he had a history of rape, and kidnapping, so they charged him. He was finally gone. He was finally put away. It was finally over. I was safe. I was finally safe. My heart felt like it could finally stop pounding against my chest. I felt like I could finally breathe. It finally felt like I was home. My brother left around 8, but I was so grateful that he stayed with me the way he did. He's always been my hero, but that was something else. It made me cry to think about it. I'm still crying thinking about it. I was so grateful for my brother. He protected me when no one else did. I was so grateful to have him as my brother. I eventually fell asleep just thinking about how lucky I am, and how I'm finally safe. I eventually fell asleep thinking that, and I finally felt safe.