A man approached me in a parking lot and to this day, I’ve never understood his intentions.

I was 16 years old in this story and lived in a neighborhood that was filled with apartment and townhouse complexes. I was biracial (white and black) but look almost completely Caucasian which I’m sure will be important later. I’ll first note that I am a female.<br><br>Also, I’m going to paint a detailed picture of this man because I have no clue what he wanted and would love to hear your thoughts. This happened in 2014.<br><br>It was a Saturday morning and I went to a beauty store to purchase hair dye for myself and my best friend. She would be over my house later so that we could both dye our hair together. This beauty store was about a block away from my house and the only way to get there was to either walk or drive. I drove to the beauty store and parked my car in the designated parking lot.<br><br>I stayed in the beauty store for a little under an hour and finally left with my hair dye. I started to walk across the parking lot to my car. I noticed a man standing by the corner of the beauty store (in the parking lot) and he was facing the other direction. He didn’t notice me walking towards my car which was parked only a few spots away from him. I got into my car and started the engine. While adjusting the radio dial, I noticed him standing by my driver’s side door. I looked at him and he smiled.<br><br>I immediately became suspicious and uncomfortable. He was a white man in his fifties, probably six-feet tall, with gray hair, no facial hair, no glasses, and a tall and lean build. He was wearing a gray T-shirt and red shorts. I lowered my window slightly so that he could speak to me. He asked me if he could borrow my lighter and I replied, “No, I don’t have a lighter.” He looked to be a smoker and was holding a pack of cigarettes. He held the pack up, smiled, and said, “I forgot my lighter at home.” I smiled back as if to say, “Sorry.” I didn’t want to lie and say that I didn’t have a lighter, I simply said that I didn’t have one. I didn’t have a lighter anyway.<br><br>He leaned against my car and I started to feel uneasy. I put my hand on the gear shift to prepare to reverse the car. I didn’t like him leaning on my car. I smiled at him again and noticed him staring at me without a smile. He then said, “I love your hair.” I said, “Thank you.” I then said, “I’m going to dye it today.” I pointed to the beauty store bag on my passenger seat. I noticed him looking into the car.<br><br>That’s when he finally walked away. He started walking towards his car. I noticed him driving away as I pulled out of the parking lot to go home. I didn’t think much of the encounter after it happened but I’ve recently been thinking about the creepy things that he said and did. What did he mean by staring at me? He was clearly looking into the car and to see what else I had. Was his intention to rob me? But why would he ask to borrow a lighter? Was that a ruse to get me to let my guard down? I wonder if he targeted me because I was young and looked to be Caucasian.<br><br>I don’t know if this was a “let’s not meet” moment or if he was genuinely asking to borrow a lighter. His smile and laugh were very creepy.