A man approached me and I was convinced we knew each other, then he tried to kill me.

The FIRST thing that you need to know is I’m a massive people pleaser. I’m always so worried about whether or not people like me, even if I have no reason to think they don’t. I’ve always felt this way, and when I was in my early twenties, I was the most self-conscious I’d ever been about it. This is important to understand because if I was less of a people pleaser, my natural response to this situation would have been very different. <br><br><br>I didn’t have a cell phone or Facebook at the time. It wasn’t that I was against them; I just didn’t have the money to afford either. However, I did have a paid subscription to an online dating website. I used it a little here and there but the only dates I went on were with men that I already knew, and I only found a few interesting matches with men I didn’t know. One of these was a man who seemed normal enough. We talked for a short time and made plans to meet for a walk in this park in the middle of my city. I told him I wouldn’t be ready for a while and that he would probably arrive before me. I explained that once he did, he should move over to the big tree near the walking path on the east end of the park, which is a really popular spot for people to sit and read or talk or something. <br><br><br>The day rolls around, and I’m running late. I get there and walk directly to the big tree. No one is there, so I sit down to wait. After 15 minutes or so, I see a man walking around the park. I don’t recognize him and I figure he’s just walking around the park or something. After a few minutes, he comes back through, and I notice he’s still there. I start to feel a little uneasy because the park really isn’t that big. After a few more minutes, he comes by again. I decide to approach him and ask if he’s the guy I’m looking for, and if so, I’ve been waiting for 20-30 minutes. He doesn’t act startled or embarrassed that he didn’t approach me. In fact, it didn’t seem like he even noticed that I’d been talking to him. <br><br><br>I don’t remember exactly what he said when I approached him. I don’t even remember what he looked like. I remember that he was wearing all black, had dark hair, and I think glasses, and that he didn’t look like his picture. I do remember that he said something along the lines of, “I knew you looked familiar, but I wasn’t sure since you had your hair down.” My hair wasn’t down - it was in a ponytail. Nevertheless, we sat down a little ways away from the tree to talk.<br><br><br>I immediately felt I little uneasy. He had a cold, dead stare with no smile. I still don’t really know why I stayed there. Maybe it was because I felt like I already knew him. Maybe it was because I was just so worried about hurting his feelings. Maybe it was just because I was a 22-year-old, naive young woman. Nevertheless, I stayed. <br><br><br>I don’t really remember what we talked about. I do remember him asking me questions about my friends, like where they lived and what they did for work. I do remember him asking me about my neighbors. And since I lived in an apartment, you can imagine how easy it would be to locate me after that. <br><br><br>At some point, he starts telling me a story. I don’t remember the story, but I think it was related to how we would be taking a walk. He said something like, “So you know how I used to work over there? One time, I was working and I saw this girl get abducted and raped. Her parents never found her.” He looked at me as he said, “They never found her.” And at that point, I knew I had to run. <br><br><br>So I stood up and announced that I was leaving. I started running east toward an alley. He ran after me. I don’t know whether or not he intended to rape/kill me at the time, but I know he did by the time he caught up to me. He grabbed me by the waist and threw me over his shoulder, and I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. That made running even harder. I think that’s why I didn’t immediately run from the alley. I think that’s why I didn’t scream as loudly as I should have. I remember feeling my stomach tighten like I was about to throw up. I was so dizzy and disoriented. <br><br><br>He carried me for a short time before he started losing his grip and I came crashing to the ground. It hurt like a motherfucker. As I Iooked back and saw him with a shovel, I realized how lucky I’d been. I got up and took off in a full sprint, with him right behind me. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to outrun him for long, so I came up with a plan. <br><br><br>I saw a man walking down the sidewalk and I ran up to him. I didn’t say a word. I wasn’t even thinking about words. I just looked up at him with tears in my eyes and grabbed onto his arm, begging him to save me without saying anything. As he turned around and I saw the man behind me stop about 20 feet away, I felt a sigh of relief. The man with me stood silently between the other man and me as he backed away, turned around, and ran away in full sprint. My protector stayed with me until I felt safe enough to go home. Believe it or not, it didn’t even occur to me that he might be dangerous. <br><br><br>I didn’t call the police. I didn’t tell them my parents about it. Hell, I didn’t tell anyone for years. I just put it out of my mind. I’ve never forgotten that feeling of misery. Never. <br><br><br>That was about 7 years ago, and I’ve never forgotten that I never knew the face of the man who tried to kill me. I also never forgot the feeling of running with all my might and knowing I wasn’t going to be able to run away from my impending doom. I still don’t know what would have happened if my protector hadn’t been there, but I’m pretty sure I’d be dead. I also know that I would have gone missing in an instant. People I knew would have been questioned, pictures would have been posted and shown, searches would have been conducted, and it would have been a cold case within a few days. I would have been gone in an instant. <br><br><br>I often wonder if the man who tried to kill me had done it before. I wonder how many women he’d approached and how many had listened. I wonder how many women he’d abducted, raped, and killed. I wonder if he’s still out there and how many women he’s abducted, raped, and killed since that day. <br><br><br>I will never forget the man who saved my life. I will never forget the man who tried to take it. I will never forget the cold, dead stare in his eyes. And I will never forget the feeling of running for my life, knowing that I wasn’t going to be able to outrun my impending doom.