Once, when I was fifteen, I was at the bus station waiting for the buses to come in. It was a quiet night, and only one other person was waiting for a bus. Some drunken guy. He kept staring and lingering around me, standing right next to me although the bus station was completely empty.
I got on my bus and sure as hell, a few moments later, he got on the same bus. The bus was empty, but he sat beside me. At this point, I was worried about him getting off the bus with me because it was nighttime, and also, I knew I was going home to an empty house.
I got off at my stop and he did, indeed, follow. I initially walked and he followed directly behind me. I started slowly increasing my speed and as I rounded a corner, I broke out running. I ran all the way home and hid in the front bushes to see if I had lost the guy. I saw him down the street walking haltingly, looking left to right, starting to head one way and then choosing another.
That was terrifying. Gross happens with alarming regularity: there are some damn stanky people out there. I know for some it’s a medical problem, so I shouldn’t say too much, but it’s awful being stuck for up to a half hour beside someone who reeks like rotting dead things.