My Guardian Angel
A guardian angel saved me from being raped and/or murdered.
During the Christmas shopping season of 1991, I went to Wal-Mart about a week before Christmas. It was early evening and the weather clear and dry , but very chilly.
About 8 weeks prior I had become employed by the American Red Cross full time. I was a mobile nurse tech, meaning I had to travel and collect blood donations from people all over the state of Arkansas. Since I had earned a few paychecks by then, I was very eager than ever to get my children, husband, relatives and in laws some nice Christmas gifts.
At that time my husband Tim ( we have divorced since then and he is now deceased ) was a real go getter and worked very hard. He was a journeyman electrician and also installed and repaired heating and air equipment, window units and wall heaters, just as his father had done and was still doing. His father was a master electrician, and Tim could work under his license. At this time our own electrical and HVAC company had established itself in Pine Bluff.
Considering that back in the early and mid 80's we had been living off food stamp assistance, my husband doing minor HVAC repairs on the side, mowing yards and just being a hired hand part time for his father's business, we had definitely moved up a few rungs. In the late 80's, Tim's father was now in his early 70's and he began referring a lot of his customers to Tim.
By 1990 Tim had more customers than he could keep up with. With our ever increasing income I decided to increase my education as well. I enrolled in a 3-month course, 138 hours to be exact, of EMT training. My certification in January of 1991 as a Basic EMT allowed me the opportunity of being hired by the American Red Cross as a Nurse Tech.
So one weekend or weekday , I can't recall, I was off from work and my husband agreed to take care of our 3 young children while I went Christmas shopping, alone.
After entering Wal-Mart, I was going here and there, looking at this at that, in a tizzy about what to buy for whom. I had so many people to buy for and it was a dizzying task. About this time I noticed a very tall ( I am 5' 8" ), slim, handsome darker-skinned man. He was wearing a tan-colored trench coat, had a very strong jaw line and his very dark hair was styled in long, curled ringlets that fell just a couple of inches short of his shoulders. He was very striking and appeared to be about 25-30 years old, tops. There is no doubt about why I should have noticed him.
And notice him again I did. I don't recall again where in the store, but there he was.
So going on about my business I noticed him again. After about the 3rd time I thought this was really strange. For a moment I thought that perhaps he was an undercover cop or security hired by Wal-Mart to look for shop lifters. After all, it was the Christmas shopping season.
However, since I was not shop lifting and haven't even attempted to do so, I began to become a bit disconcerted. I now was in the section of female purses, looking to buy myself another one, when suddenly a voice boomed in my head: "Look up, you are being followed !" As soon as this voice in my head stated this, I did just that. Sure enough, here was this same person directly 15 feet or so in front of me, looking at purses too.
The voice could have been my own, but I just don't believe so. It truly felt like it had come from somewhere else. And the message I just heard in my head was so authoritative and commanding, enough so that it caught my attention and actually caused me to look up. Intuition just doesn't work like that. Intuition is a strong hunch or feeling, not a loud completely spoken command that suddenly pops into your mind.
If this was my own gut feeling or intuition, than I definitely took myself by surprise!
At this sudden and unexpected warning, I got the heebie jeebies. I thought to myself, this is too strange, but at the same time wondering but thankful where that voice of warning in my head came from. I was thankful because I now knew something was very wrong. There is NO reason why I should have seen this same person again and again. Think about it, and at the time I did... Wal-Mart is a huge store.
I took my cart, veered away from the purses and went to other areas of the store, now having my mind made up about what to get for some folks who I had been unsure of before. With my shopping cart full, except for that other purse I wanted to buy , I now continued toward the check-out lines. As I entered one of the lines, lo and behold, guess who I saw again?
You got it. As I was in the check-out line it also occurred to me: This same individual that I have now seen 5 different times had no shopping cart, no shopping basket in hand, nothing. He has been here this whole time and has nothing in his hands, and it's the Christmas shopping season. However of course, he is most interested in that book he is reading... you know, where they put books and magazines close to the check-out lines. That was a clue right there, and I don't mean undercover cop. I mean stalker !! Much !
I went through the line and with everything checked and bagged it was time for me to leave. Also at this time I knew better than to go out of that store by myself and not let anyone know what was happening. Turn the tables on this stalker I thought to myself. As I walked to the exit/entrance of the store, I saw him again! He was in the lobby pacing back and forth like a caged animal, and I realized he was just as deadly!
When I reached the people greeter, I stated to her that I had a man following me during the whole time I was in the store. I told her that he was the one in the trench coat in the lobby pacing back and forth, and could she get a male employee to walk me to my car ? She looked at me for a few seconds, glanced over to the lobby and than back to me and said "yes I can. I will go find someone right now." I thanked her and told her that I would have no problem waiting until she came back.
She took off toward the direction of the back of the store, and for about three minutes I just stood there. I mostly had my head down during that time, not only to avoid looking at my would be stalker in the lobby, but to take inventory of everything in my shopping cart to make sure I had bought for everyone I was there to buy for. After all, my last bit of shopping had been jolted by this voice out of nowhere, telling me I was being followed. And then realizing for myself that I actually was being followed.
I then looked over to my right and saw that the canteen was about 60 feet away . I was thinking that by now that I could use a soft drink, ice water, something. The canteen was certainly close enough to keep track of the people greeter when she returned with a male employee to walk me to my car.
I turned my cart and headed about 10 feet toward the canteen when my eyes met his. I stopped immediately . This same stalker was sitting at a table in the canteen, facing my direction, toward the exit/entrance doors. His eyes met mine and made me shudder for a split second because they were so full of hate. This would-be rapist/murderer was having no problem staring me down.
I had thwarted whatever horrible evil plan he had in store for me, and he and I both knew it.
I stared back at him too, like Check Mate you piece of shit ! I then turned my cart back around. At that exact time, and thank God, the people greeter arrived back with a male employee to walk me to my car. I then told the people greeter that my stalker was now sitting in the canteen, looking innocent.
The male employee then proceeded to walk me to my car, but not before I let the people greeter know where I was parked, just for more added security . I told her that I was only parked about 200 feet away and could she please watch both of us to my car? After walking out of the store I turned to look as we walked toward my car, and there she was in the lobby intently watching us. After all, I was the target of some evil sociopath who was either a rapist, murderer or both, but I was not going to put anyone else in harm's way...if I could help it.
Hindsight always being 20/20, I suppose that when this person waiting in the lobby to follow me to my car noticed that the people greeter had left her post and that I was not going out that door, he then realized that I was on to him. Obviously he never knew that I had been warned as well by a guardian angel. So while I was looking in my cart at my purchased items, he came back into the store and sat down at the canteen area to look all nice and innocent...just in case store security said anything to him.
To this day I hope that after I left he did not find another woman to attack. Unfortunately, he probably did if he was a serial rapist and murderer.
I did read the local papers for a few weeks afterwards, but no such related articles regarding what this sociopath was capable of: Rape and murder. If I had read such, I would have gone to the police.
By Tonja Brown
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