15. Came really close to being kidnapped

A few years ago, when I was fourteen or so, I was out walking my dog, a hyper Chesapeake retriever mix, in a rural/suburban area. It was a fairly quiet road. A car would breeze by once every five minutes or so. An old gray Toyota Corolla or some car like that passed by. Nothing unusual. But a minute later, this car passes AGAIN. And the car slows down a ton when it’s coming toward me, giving me the impression this guy was checking me out.

This guy ends up passing up and down the road stalking me. I end up faking having a cell phone and talking to someone on the other end, in case he got any ideas. The dog gave me a sense of security too. After maybe the sixth or seventh time this guy does this, I duck into the woods to hide. He swings by twice more, and I wait ten minutes to see if he comes back. He doesn’t. I end up running back home, with a very confused and disappointed dog.

I think later on there was a news story that matched my stalker’s description and was charged with attempted rape. Could be wrong though. Still, creepy. I didn’t go for a walk for about a week after that.