Woman credits safety tip from the internet for saving her from a creepy stalker

People would rather be safe than sorry in a potentially dangerous situation. Especially if you are a woman who is traveling alone. Rather than losing your wits, it's better to compose yourself and think about anything that can help you out of a critical situation. That is exactly what this woman on Reddit did. The post on the r/TwoXChromosomes subreddit from the deleted account of a woman narrates a real-life experience and how she got herself out of it.

"I was in a potentially dangerous situation today. I knew what to do from a previous post on here and the comments I read and I just want to say thank you," she wrote at the top of the post. The incident was dated at the time of the COVID-19 lockdown and the lady had gone to check on her grandmother in the neighboring city. To use the restroom, she stepped into a desolate mall visible from the entrance. "As I walked in, I passed a man in a yellow mask leaning on the opposite side of a pillar in front of the entrance. I felt him turn towards me as I passed, but I carried on my way," she recalled.

"I can't explain why, but a post I had read on here suddenly popped into my head that was about a woman who had avoided a man following her. The top comment I had read at the time said to never go into a public bathroom if followed," she continued. So she ended up crossing the hallway that led to the restroom and entered the main shopping center. Her instincts took over as she spotted a dollhouse store to her left and decided to enter it, hoping the man wouldn't follow her. There was no one at the dollhouse store's counter, but the woman decided to stand in front of a section of miniatures to admire while staying alert about the suspicious man's activities.

"He casually made his way into the store and came to a stop at the same section, a few feet from me, but looking in my direction. As the realization sunk in, I fought back paralyzingly fear and reached for my phone in my pocket. I turned abruptly and quickly walked back toward the exit as the phone rang for my husband, who was waiting out in the car for me. The man in the yellow mask turned and matched my pace toward the exit," she wrote about the fearful details.

She admitted that she was terrified but also relieved when her call connected and she heard her husband on the other end of the line. Putting her phone on the speaker, she spoke loudly that she was "being followed by a man behind her." Her husband did not waste another second and was out of his car, heading towards her location to assure her that he was coming for her. "I can't find the post or remember the usernames of the people whose advice I followed, but thank you. Had it not been for reading that post recently, I don't know that I would have had the foresight or awareness in the moment to know to not go into that bathroom," she concluded.

People on Reddit expressed their relief knowing that she managed to get herself to safety using tips from the internet. u/PurplishPlatypus wrote, "I'm sorry you had to go through that, and am so glad you are safe. If nothing else, you should contact security at the mall and tell them what happened. Hopefully, they can review any security recordings and keep an eye out for him." u/MisterPublic advised, "If this ever happens again (hopefully it doesn't) you could very deliberately point your phone at the person and take a picture. It both lets them know you know and now you have a clear picture of them for future reference and for reporting purposes."