The Creepy Smile of a Stranger I Passed in the Hall

It was around 2008 and I had just started seeing my then boyfriend who, at that time, lived in an apartment in a high-rise building that had a total of 4 elevators. 3 of them were always in use by the residents and 1 was reserved for “ special guests “ of the owner of the building ( I was never quite sure who or what kind of people these guests were and I didn’t ask questions either ). I had almost forgotten about the existence of the 4th elevator until one evening, when my boyfriend and I were headed back to his place.<br><br>As we were already standing in the middle between elevators, I said “ let’s just take the next available one “. It so happened that the next elevator to stop was the 4th elevator. The doors slid open and there was no one inside, as the display showed G ( ground floor ) so we stepped inside. I hit the button for the 14th floor ( where my boyfriend lived ) and just as the doors were about to close, a man stepped in. He was probably in his mid-40s, wearing a black sweater and jeans, brown hair, average height. <br><br>I don’t know why, but as he stepped in and our eyes met for the first time, I got the most intense “ red flag “ feeling, something I had never experienced before. The man smiled at me as if to say “ it’s okay “ but I didn’t return the smile and instead I looked at my boyfriend, who didn’t seem to have noticed anything and was busy checking his phone. The man who had just stepped in hit the button for the 11th floor. As the doors closed, I whispered to my boyfriend to check the cameras once we got to his place and he told me to stop making a big deal out of it, that the guy was probably just a resident who came home from work. I insisted on him checking the cameras and he agreed.<br><br>Once the elevator stopped at the 11th floor, the man got out, but not before smiling at me again. I held his gaze for a second, just to show him I wasn’t afraid, and I saw him mouth something to me as the doors closed. I couldn’t tell what he said, but from the way his lips moved, it looked like it was a normal greeting like “ have a good night “ or “ you, too “. When we got to the 14th floor and entered my boyfriend’s place, I reminded him again to check the cameras. To my surprise, the cameras only showed the entrance to the building and the parking area in the back. I was relieved to see that the man from the elevator walked into the parking area and got into his car. <br><br>He spent some time in front of the steering wheel, probably looking for his phone or checking his surroundings and that’s when it happened: he looked directly into the camera, smiled the same creepy smile he had given me and waved. I felt chills run down my spine as I realized that he knew the cameras were there and that he probably knew we were checking them from the 14th floor. My boyfriend thought that maybe the man was just trying to be polite or even sarcastic, but for some reason his smile and wave seemed menacing to me.<br><br>I never forgot about this incident and whenever I took a ride alone in an elevator, I couldn’t help but think of that man and his smile. Just to think about the fact that he knew exactly where the cameras were and even waved at them, gives me goosebumps to this day.