Faith was shopping in Walmart. When a strange-looking man approached her and asked for some help, she felt uneasy. Regardless of that, she politely helped him in choosing the right hair dye color for his granddaughter. After all, her mom taught her to be nice and polite so she couldn't act differently.
However, after helping the man, she noticed that he was still following her. Faith realized she might be in danger. Luckily, she recalled one piece of advice that her mother once gave her. Still feeling the stranger's presence around her, she immediately rushed to phone cases...
Weekend Boredom
After a long tiring week in school on the weekend, Faith was lying lazily in her bed. She had lots of homework to do, but she was still not in the mood to accomplish it. Faith was ready to do anything but boring stuff. So a crazy idea came to her mind.
Faith decided to dye her hair -that was what she had energy for that day. Where would she head to buy things she needed for that? Walmart, of course!
Getting Ready
Upon making up her decision, she excitedly got up from her bed and took a quick shower. After showering, she had a hard time choosing what would be her outfit for the day.
Following a 10-minute evaluation of what she should wear, she came up with a white sleeveless cropped top, denim high waist pants, and a windbreaker jacket. Faith then wore her sneakers and grabbed her shoulder bag before heading out of the house.
Driving to Walmart
She has asked her brother to drive her to the Walmart and pick her up after buying. The Walmart was just a 30-minute drive from their home. Going to Walmart, the teen and her brother played and jammed to pop music while sightseeing to the afternoon view in their county.
It was already late in the afternoon, and they noticed that there were not many people and cars at the moment. After a 30-minute drive, the two have arrived at Walmart already.
At Walmart
Her brother just dropped her off by the entrance of the Walmart. He told her to give him a text message if she was done purchasing because he would have to drive to the market to buy some fruits and vegetables first. The teen nodded and agreed.
Afterward, they waved their goodbyes to each other, and she entered the Walmart. At Walmart, Faith observed that there were just a few people inside of it, and she then led herself to the cart section.
Inside the Walmart
Faith got herself a cart first in case that she would find many things to purchase. Inside the Walmart, knowing that there were only a few people, the teen has strolled over the aisles peacefully. She then wandered over the place while looking at the signs of each section aisles to know where the hair dyes would be.
She just slowly walked because she wasn’t in a hurry at all. Faith spent her time overseeing what else she could buy.
Walking Around
Walking around, she came across the room decorations. A hanging frame and a pastel color curtain caught her attention. She grabbed one piece for each item and put it in her cart. Faith thought that the structure would be the perfect decor on top of her study table.
She also needed a new set of curtains, and so she got herself a new one too. After that, she walked towards the hair dye section to buy her primary purpose of going to Walmart.
Hair Dye Aisle
Upon seeing the hair dye section sign, the teen carefully turned over her cart to the corner of the aisle. Faith excitedly held her cart out of her hand at the hair dye aisle and came over to the hair dye brands and colors. She couldn’t make up her mind as to what color she would choose.
She’s having difficulties choosing whether she’ll go for an ombre hair color or burgundy hair color. After minutes of contemplating upon her choice, she had taken the ombre one.
Ran Into an Older Man
Afterward, she had also gotten herself a bleaching product and a developer to completely add up to the hair dye procedure that she’s going to do. Faith also picked out some color brushes, color mixing bowls, gloves, and a plastic protective cape.
After putting everything that she needed into her cart, she ran into an older man who’s also looking at the hair dye colors. She perceived that he’s struggling for something.
Didn’t Have Reading Glasses
Faith approached the old man, and he told her that he was looking for hair dye for his granddaughter but couldn’t find the color she wanted. He didn’t have reading glasses with him, so he couldn’t see the colors displayed.
Ascertaining the old man's situation, the teen offered help to the old man because he seemed subdued. On the other hand, the old man gladly accepted her help.
Helping the Old Man
Helping the old man, the teen asked her questions about his granddaughter’s preference of hair dye color. He told her the color, and she found it for him. She then asked a few other questions like how long his granddaughter’s hair was and how dark it was, to make sure that he got the right amount of dye.
Faith also told him if he needed bleach or not since the dye was a bright, barbie pink. After making sure he had everything he would need, he thanked the young girl.
Walking Over the Next Aisle
Consequently, after giving a helping hand to the old man, Faith went on strolling again with her cart. Walking over the next aisle, she saw new stocks of bedding sets available at the store. She came closer to it to browse through it.
Pushing her cart slowly, she stopped in front of the bedding sets section and left her cart standing by. She then started to glance over the bedding sets to see if she could catch interest in anything.
On the Bedding Sets
While she was busy looking through the different designs of the bedding sets, she would also take a quick look at where her cart was to make sure that it was still secured. After that, she would then go back to selecting the bedding sets again.
On the bedding set aisle, she noticed the man was there as well. She just shrugged the thought of having the old man there because she thought he was harmless.
He was Following Her
Faith just assumed that maybe his granddaughter’s birthday was coming up, so he was just getting stuff for her since she was in the girls' bedding aisle. She grabbed the bedding set that she wanted and went to look at the fake plants.
When she got to the aisle, he was there too. It was this time that she felt like he was following her. By then, curious thoughts crippled the teen’s mind, but she pretended that she wasn’t threatened by his presence.
Something was Off
The girl just turned to smile at him, but later on, Faith realized that he no longer had the hair dye or any bedding. That’s when she concluded that something was off between the man’s actions. She forced herself to believe that everything was alright.
However, she could already sense that the man’s movements were inadequate. So she tried her best to still compose herself and not feel intimidated by the old man.
Started to Panic
As he reached the aisle where the fake plants were, she could see in her peripheral vision that the man was sightseeing her and watching every move she was taking. From then on, the teen started to panic. The man was already giving her an eerie feeling.
She was beginning to become nervous as she felt her heart racing so fast because she was terrorized by the man’s actions. Feeling terrified, the teen just gave her attention to the fake plants and went on with choosing.
Phone was Dead
When she was already feeling unsafe, she decided to call her brother. However, when Faith got her phone from her pocket to call her brother, the phone had died at some point. Seeing that her phone was dead, she became more terrified.
At that time, she had already chosen a fake plant and put it on her cart. She then strolled over to the cart and went in the opposite direction from the man.
Feeling Fear and Anxiety
The teen discreetly distanced herself from the old man because she felt not secure anymore. She remained cautious and attentive as she tried to figure out what the old man’s intention was.
Yet, she cannot deny that she was already feeling fear and anxiety because she couldn’t call someone for help then. She felt helpless during that time, and the man could discern that the teen was now threatened by him.
Trying to Calm Down
Despite feeling helpless by then, the teen was trying to calm herself down because she was rattled by her thoughts. She took deep breaths multiple times to shake away the nervousness she was feeling and normalize her breathing pace.
After some time, Faith was feeling better already, and she tried out to think of the best possible way to make herself out of the man’s sight. Subsequently, she recalled her mother’s advice to her.
Her Mother’s Advice
At that point, Faith remembered that her mom told her about what to do if she ever felt like she was in danger at Walmart. Her mom advised her that she should go over to the electronics counter.
That’s where she should go because there’s always a worker there to help since they’re locked in a case. After recalling her mother’s advice, the teen quickly headed to the counter where the phone cases were displayed.
Going Over to the Phone Cases
Going over to the phone cases counter, Faith was still pushing her cart and prudently observing the old man in the opposite direction. She saw that the old man hadn’t taken out a single minute of watching over her.
While she was making her way to the phone cases counter, the old man was also walking in the same direction that she was strolling over. But at that moment, the teen was now calm enough to handle the situation.
Asking Assistance
When she got to the phone counter, she asked for assistance getting a case from the locked box. Faith put on an act that she was to buy a phone case for her phone.
She was accommodated by a worker, and the worker took the keys to unlock the glass box to where the assumed preferred subject of the teen was. The worker took a long time to open the glass box because he forgot the correct key.
Explaining Her Situation
When the worker came over to help, she took this opportunity to explain her situation to him. She pointed out the man to him and told him that the man’s actions weren’t on guard.
The worker leaned over to her as she spoke softly during her explanation, and he listened attentively to the teen. The worker was furious, too, about what the teen told her. Without hesitations and doubts, the worker willingly helped her get out of danger.
Next Moment Realization
The next moment, the teen and the worker both realized that the man was sitting down and seemed to be recording or taking pictures of the teen. From this time, they both knew that the man wasn’t safe at all.
The teen has become scared again, but the worker assured her that everything would be fine and get through her situation safely. The worker could see the distress in the teen’s eyes and helped her ease herself.
Help in Action
The worker that accompanied Faith called out her fellow worker and shared with him about the harmful situation that the teen could be in. By then, they planned out how they would help the teen.
Their help in action started when he told the teen to give him a second before handing her a random case from the box and going into the back room. The other worker then pretended to have trouble ringing his fellow worker up after taking so long in the back room.
Worker Pretended to be Someone She Knew
Several minutes later, the teen noticed the worker, who had gotten her the case, coming out of the backroom in his everyday clothes before circling the isles and coming up to the teen. He very loudly asked where she had been, and the teen told him that she was just getting a new case.
However, there seemed to be a problem getting it rung up. He pretended to be someone that the teen knew to despise the old man.
Walked Her to the Self Checkout
The worker pretended to argue with the teen before grabbing the phone case and handing it to the cashier. He told the cashier that they wouldn’t be buying the case anymore because they were already leaving.
Afterward, the worker walked with the teen back to the self-checkout. Faith then asked the worker if she could borrow his phone. The worker nodded, and the teen called her brother to pick her up at Walmart already.
Man’s Intentions
The worker also waited with the teen for her brother to arrive and pick her up. After some time, her brother stopped by Walmart, and he was curious about why she didn’t have anything on hand, knowing that she had come to Walmart to buy something.
The worker then volunteered to explain to the teen’s brother. Meanwhile, it was just that time that the teen finally came to realize that even if she didn't know what that man's intentions were, she knew they weren’t good.
Grateful for the Workers
Faith couldn’t measure how grateful she was for the workers who had extended their helping hands in the threatening incident that she was involved in. She was delighted to have recalled her mother’s advice which was a big help in helping her overcome her dangerous situation. She does not wish to meet the creepy old man again.
With all that said and done, she will always be of deep gratitude to the workers who had come to rescue her when she was already feeling helpless. There will be times that we will be tested by our faith in humanity because there are people who can always take advantage of vulnerable persons. Even so, there will still be more people who are golden-hearted and would always help people in need.