My sister and I were on the road when we suddenly saw a man standing in our path: I hi:t the brakes, and the man slowly walked toward our car, holding something in his hands…
We were on our way to visit our parents, whose house is a couple of hours out. I was behind the wheel while my sister sat beside me. We talked, shared our weekend plans, played some music—everything felt routine.
Then, out of nowhere… there was a man standing de:ad center on the highway. Alone, unmoving.
He looked to be around thirty. He wasn’t walking, just standing with his back turned toward us, like he was waiting for something or someone. I h:it the brakes hard so we wouldn’t hit him. We both stared at him, puzzled.
He slowly turned around to face us. His eyes locked on ours… and he grinned. But it wasn’t a warm or reassuring smile. It sent chills through us—strange and ominous.
Without even thinking, I hit the button to lock the doors. I picked up my phone, just in case we needed to dial for help. The man kept walking toward the car, that eerie smile never fading. There was no one else around. Just us, him, and a desolate highway.
Then my sister muttered, her voice shaky with fear:
— Look at what he’s holding…
I followed her gaze—and froze. The man was gripping something.
He was holding a woman’s handbag.
He approached my window and signaled for me to roll it down. I didn’t budge.
“What do you want?” My voice came out shaky.
“I found this purse,” he said calmly. “Could it belong to you?”
“Is this guy serious?” my sister snapped. “How could it be ours?”
“No,” I replied firmly, and slammed on the gas. We sped off, not daring to glance behind.
To every woman out there, please be cautious.
I still shudder thinking what might’ve happened if I had lowered the window. Or if I’d hesitated. What if someone else in our place thought, “Maybe it really is hers”?
What if they were too polite to leave?
But don’t feel guilty. Don’t justify disturbing behavior.
Even if he had honest intentions—why stand in the middle of the road? How could he know who was driving? Why did he look straight at us like that?
Too many questions with scary possibilities.
The truth is—we live in a world where danger can wear a smile.
