A Fateful Walk

              The sky was a dark shade of grey, the clouds hiding any evidence of day.  Although it was only four or five in the evening, it was as dark as seven or eight.  As usual, my child and I went for our weekly walk to the post office to mail our bills.
         There was nothing out of the ordinary today.  Everything was the same as every other Friday for us.  As usual, I gathered Brandan into his favorite stroller.  Due to the unusually poor weather this week, I was sure to grab a few blankets and an umbrella.  I prepared for the stroll the same as every other.  We lived in a small rural neighborhood that was quickly developing into a small city, the post office was approximately five blocks downhill from our house.  I gathered the white rectangles, the simple little envelopes that would change our fate, possibly forever.
         We set off on our journey, and we weren’t even two blocks in before Brandan was fast asleep.  I took a breath of relief as he was always so full of energy, but at this moment, he was off somewhere, his energy tank refueling for his evening play date.  We really looked forward to this walk as it was a small break from our nonstop lives.  Although the weather was not ideal, I was completely lost in the moment, in the event, in the environment.  Everything was as I had anticipated, and as I had expected, we made it to the post office uneventfully.
         After our transaction was complete, we headed back out to the road to continue our outing.  As I left the post office the weather had taken another turn for the worse, and now the sky was pouring pebbles of water and ice and the little bit of light that was holding up in the sky had now vanished under the gloom of the angry clouds.  I covered the sleeping mound in the stroller with an extra blanket to ensure he would keep warm and dry the entire way home, and we were off, trudging uphill to our safe house.  With the ice bouncing off of my body, we made it about one block before our lives were transformed forever.
         A black Ford pick-up truck pulled to the side of the road right next to the sidewalk I was walking on.  I quickly glanced over the driver, but just as quickly returned my focus to the brutal walk I was facing.  At first the man said nothing, and neither did I, as my pure focus was on making it home as quickly as I could.  After I was about three feet beyond the truck, he began to idle forward until he was again adjacent to us.  At this point my heart began to pound out of my chest, I felt a lump in my throat because I knew that something wasn’t right about the man next to me.
         “Nice ass honey, you want a ride?”
         My stomach turned at the thought of this repugnant, vile man making passes at me as I pushed a baby in the sleet and rain.  I could not bring myself to respond, although my mind was racing, my response was frozen.  I stared into the now-stopped truck and began to absorb all of the details, from the color of his eyes to the brand of cigarette hanging from his chapped lips.  I never stopped walking, but I forgot where I was going.
         “Why don’t you bend over a little baby, I won’t bite.”
         I tightened my grip on the stroller.  My feet were traveling faster than my body knew possible.  I struggled to choke up a reaction.  All I could submit to him was, “Do you not have any respect for children, in the time you have been harassing me I have gotten your physical description and your license plate number, I would advise you to just leave now.”
         This plea did not deter my stalker from pursuing me more.  He continued to follow me up the hill, until the road leveled out.  To my greater dissatisfaction, there were no other people or vehicles out, probably due to the weather which was progressively becoming worse.  At the top of the hill I made a left turn, I first crossed the street, and then followed the sidewalk to the left. 
         By the time I reached the second driveway on the street my pursuer was now facing the wrong direction on the street, his door to me, and I don’t remember my heart beating at all.  I was so dizzy I felt like I was going to pass out.  He began to open his door.  My feet became heavy, I was lifting cinderblocks with every step, although I couldn’t stop because I knew if I did he would hurt us.  Each moment felt like an hour, I felt as though I had been living this nightmare for days, but I couldn’t wake myself enough to snap out of it.
         My perpetrator attempted his abduction.  He reached out to grab my arm. As I continued to move forward I felt my body tense and I briefly closed my eyes.  As I looked over at this horrible man that cared nothing about the effect this was going to have on the rest of my life, another car driving toward us began to honk loud long noises that sounded like an angel singing.  I knew that I was saved from the tragic fate I was so close to facing.  Before I could regain eye contact with my attacker, he closed himself in the truck and disappeared. 
         I had thousands of emotions running through my body, but I was completely emotionless.  I could not laugh. I could not cry.  There I was, still walking, dragging cinderblocks down the street as though nothing had ever happened, but I was changed.  I would never be able to walk to the post office again without thinking about this man who was probably looking for his next target.  Another young girl not ready to lose her innocence in thinking the world is full of good people, that the monsters we read about could never live in our neighborhoods, and he would take that away from her in thirty seconds flat.  I vowed that I would help the next girl keep her purity.
         I called the police.
         After the police arrived at my house, and I felt safe, the emotions came pouring out of me.  I was angry and then I was sad.  I was relieved and then I was terrified.  I cried.  I screamed.  I was silent at the discovery of the seriousness of the crime that was committed in my neighborhood.  I was very thankful that my mind went from a oddly shaped organ to a enormous sponge that was able to absorb every detail of the encounter.  Because of this, we are safe, and my attacker is facing twenty-five years behind bars.  There is more than just crime in my neighborhood.  There is also justice.