"The man in the tunnel at the end of my street"

I live in Northern Europe, and it’s currently getting dark at about 4pm, so I go for my after work walk at 3.30. I don’t mind the rain, but I hate walking in the dark. It’s a 45 minute walk along the river and I take a detour through a pretty park at the end, and then head back to my apartment. It’s a nice walk, and usually quiet. The river walk is not near any shops, so you don’t get many people going to and fro, it’s usually joggers, walkers and people with prams. It’s a pretty standard walk for a lot of people. <br><br>I live in an apartment in a tall building. This is how most people live in the city now, and as I live alone my apartment is quite small, so a walk is essential. The other upside is that my apartment is very affordable. I was so surprised that I was able to get one in a “good” area. It’s a great location, near two parks, the river, shops and an excellent restaurant at the bottom of the building. The only downside is that the only way to get to the river is through a tunnel. It’s immediately to the left of my apartment building, and I take it every time I go for my walk. It’s fine, and a lot of people take the tunnel as well. <br><br>One day I’m walking through the tunnel when I see a man. He’s standing with his back to the street who goes through the tunnel and is staring in the other direction. He’s facing me and I’m walking towards him. I don’t even notice him at first because I’m walking towards him, but I notice him as I’m about 10 feet away. <br><br>He doesn’t look good. He’s dirty and has a really bad smell. He’s dressed in a parka and his shoes are old and his trousers are stained. He’s standing by the wall, which is strange, because he’s about 10 feet away from me, and I’m walking towards him. He’s on the right side of the tunnel, and I’m walking along the right side of the tunnel. <br><br>He’s just standing there. Not doing anything. His hands are in his pockets, and he’s looking around the tunnel. He looks up as I approach him and he watches me as I get closer to him. I don’t even dare make eye contact with him. I don’t want to. I walk past him and I can feel his dirty eyes on me. I quicken my pace and look over my shoulder after two seconds and he’s turned around and is staring at me. <br><br>I get out of the tunnel and keep walking. I feel disgusted. I hope that he doesn’t follow me. I’m in a busy area now, but still I can’t shake that prickly feeling. I check my phone and look behind me a million times. But he’s not there. I finally relax when I get to the park. I’m feeling awful. I feel uneasy and anxious about the whole thing. <br><br>I’m already in the park, so I might as well keep walking. But I don’t feel great. I’m constantly looking over my shoulder and I’m so on edge. I get home and get into the shower. I feel violated, dirty, or something. I don’t know how to explain it. I’m just so glad I’m alone now, in my apartment, where no one can bother me. I don’t feel like that very often.<br><br>I forget about this whole incident, and I’m glad about it. I don’t want to think about that again. It was an icky feeling. It happens again two weeks later. I’m walking by the river when I have to cross it. I see the man in the tunnel at the end of my street. I’m not at my street though, I’m at a different location. I see him across the bridge. I make immediate eye contact with him and he stops and stares at me. I feel that same feeling that I felt the first time. I stare back at him for about 20 seconds, and he doesn’t move. I finally look away and take out my phone and do something random on it. I pretend to be getting a text, and I’m relieved that he’s not moving. I try to act normal, but my body is screaming at me to get out of there. I move slowly across the bridge and slowly I start to jog. I don’t want to run, because I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of chasing me. I’m panicked. I’m so fucking panicked. I get to the other side of the bridge and I run. I don’t even look back. I don’t want to. It’s so fucking scary. <br><br>Finally I get to an area with more people. There are shops here and people walking around. I’m out of breath and I feel so panicked inside. I stop and look back and there’s no one there. I’m relieved, but still so uncomfortable. I figure he’s just a creepy guy who likes to be in tunnels, but he’s not someone to worry about. Maybe I just happened to be near two tunnels that he was in. <br><br>It happens again two days ago. I was at the park, walking with friends and I saw him on the other side of the river. The same man in the tunnel at the end of my street, and the same man that I saw on the other bridge. He was standing and staring at me. I was with three people so I felt safe, but I didn’t feel safe. He looked exactly as he did the other two times that I saw him. I didn’t want to tell my friends, because it immediately felt like a lie. I would be the stupid person who invented some fake story about some random stranger. But I pointed it out to one of my friends and I told her. She’s a pretty no nonsense person. She said I should report it to the police. <br><br>I don’t want to. I don’t want to be that stupid person. But my friend is right. I should definitely report it. I’m going to speak to my landlord and see if he has any CCTV in the area. If he does, and this man is in the footage I will go to the police. If not, then I won’t. At least that’s what I’m thinking right now.<br><br>He’s so fucking creepy. I don’t know what his intentions are, but I hope that he leaves me alone.