She could tell that someone was staring at her from behind her, and it made her feel uneasy. The narrow walkway before the apartment doors did not help in any way, either. The railing of the old building was falling apart, too, and she was always afraid for the children who played on the walkway.
She wanted to turn back and see who it was that was staring at her, but she did not want to do it. Fear took over her, and she walked quickly towards her neighbour's house. Just yesterday, she had watched a video of a lady being chased by a stranger to her house. She knew that her neighbour was inside the home. So, she thought it was safe to stay there instead of going to her house, where she was alone till her husband came back from work.
She knocked on her neighbour's house, and when the door opened, she got a surprise because it was an elderly lady who answered. Then she remembered that her neighbor had told her that her in-laws would be visiting. She had also remembered her telling that her father-in-law was a creepy old man. She turned in time to see an old man trying to come close to her from behind. Phew. She stepped back and ran towards her house and got in, and locked her house. That had been a close call. She did not care about the reactions of the old couple as she had an instinct about them. They would probably make up some story about her and tell their daughter-in-law, who was already frustrated. So, she might not mind at all.
When her husband came back in the evening, she told her husband about the incident. He looked tense and then kept quiet. The next day, she came out of her house, and the old man was standing outside saying that he wanted to get to know his son's neighbor better. She rushed inside her house, calling out her husband, who had not left. He approached the old man, who was now busy retreating to his house, but was caught by his son, who had come to know of the incident. He told his dad that he was ashamed of his behavior and wanted him to leave immediately. The old man shouted curses, but his wife looked at him sadly and gave him a bag and asked him to leave. She said that she was sick of his behavior and wanted him to go back to his village, alone. She would return later, she said.
She was glad to see him go. She could now live in peace here. Her husband, however had enough of the place and soon took her to their own house that he had saved to buy. No more narrow walkways or creepy staircases, and her new house had a beautiful backyard garden. She heard later that the old man had repented and stopped bothering young women.
Story by Sayee
Image created by AI and pixabay
