I didn’t really think when this man helped me load my groceries into the car. I dismissed it as a random act of kindness, nothing more. But a few days later, I saw him again. And again. He just stood there, watching. At first, I chalked it up to coincidence. Then fear set in. Why was he still there? What did he want from me?
I was in the grocery store parking lot near my house, arms outstretched as I tried to load the heavy grocery bags into my trunk.
It was then that I heard a voice behind me.
“Need a hand?”
A woman putting grocery bags in the trunk of her car | Source: Midjourney
A woman putting grocery bags in the trunk of her car | Source: Midjourney
I turned around abruptly.
A man stood there. He was well-dressed, in his mid- to late fifties, with neatly combed hair and a polite expression. He held out his hands, waiting for me to make up my mind.
I hesitated for a second.
In a world where we’re taught to be cautious, especially as a woman alone in a parking lot, something about him still made me feel comfortable.
“Yes, actually, that would be great,” I said. “These bags are heavier than I thought.”
He grabbed the heavier ones, carefully placing them in my trunk.
“You must have been stocking up for the winter or something,” he said with a chuckle.
“Just a normal grocery run,” I replied, offering him a half-smile. “I swear they make these bags lighter every year.”
A woman talking to a stranger in a parking lot | Source: Midjourney
A woman talking to a stranger in a parking lot | Source: Midjourney
He nodded, closing the trunk for me. “There you go. All ready.”
“Thank you,” I said, slinging my purse over my shoulder. “That’s really kind of you.”
“It’s nothing.” He nodded once, his eyes meeting mine for a moment before he turned and walked away. He didn’t linger, didn’t wait for a conversation. Just a stranger lending a helping hand.
I looked at it for a moment before getting into my car.
A man who walks away | Source: Midjourney
A man who walks away | Source: Midjourney
By the time I pulled out of the parking lot, I’d already pushed the encounter to the back of my mind. It was just a simple act of kindness. Nothing more, right?
This is false.
It was much more than that.
The first time I saw him after that day, I barely reacted.
It was in front of the cafe where I had my morning coffee. He was standing across the street, hands in his pockets, looking at his phone.
I frowned but rationalized it. Maybe he worked nearby. Maybe it was just a coincidence.
A woman standing outside a cafe | Source: Midjourney
A woman standing outside a cafe | Source: Midjourney
Then I saw him again. Near the bookstore.
The next day, in front of my gym.
Always at a distance, never getting close. It was like a game of déjà vu that I couldn’t shake.
I tried to tell myself it was nothing.
After all, city dwellers frequent the same places. But there was this uneasy feeling settling in my gut that wouldn’t go away.
One night, I took out my phone to take a picture, just to prove to myself that it was real.
A woman holding her phone | Source: Pexels
A woman holding her phone | Source: Pexels
But the moment I opened the camera, my phone turned off. Dead battery. Typical.
I put it back in my pocket, shaking my head.
A week passed, and the sightings continued. He wasn’t just in my usual spots anymore. He was everywhere.
One evening, I was sitting in a cafe, absentmindedly stirring my tea, when my eyes flicked up to the window. And there he was again. Across the street. Watching.
A woman sitting in a cafe at night | Source: Midjourney
A woman sitting in a cafe at night | Source: Midjourney
I muttered under my breath, “There he is again.”
I was about to grab my phone to take a picture of him when the woman at the next table interrupted me.
“Who?” she asked, following my gaze.
“That man,” I said, turning to her. “Right there, across the street.”
She narrowed her eyes, then frowned. “There’s no one there.”
I turned my head back to the window. The sidewalk was empty. He wasn’t there.
Not only did I fail to take a picture of him, but the woman at the other table thought I was crazy.
I can’t explain how bad I felt.
A distraught woman | Source: Midjourney
A distraught woman | Source: Midjourney
That evening, I took a different route home. I parked in a different spot. I even stayed home for two whole days, pretending it was just exhaustion keeping me away from the world.
But when I finally got out, there he was. Across the street.
I turned sharply and walked straight toward him, my pulse roaring in my ears. But before I could cross the street, he was gone.
I stood frozen on the sidewalk.
What’s going on? Am I losing my mind?
Overwhelmed, I drove to my best friend Elaine’s jewelry store.
A woman holding a steering wheel | Source: Pexels
A woman holding a steering wheel | Source: Pexels
As I parked, my eyes fell on the sidewalk across the street.
He was there.
Standing still, hands in his pockets, he watched.
I forced myself to look away and rushed inside.
Elaine looked up from behind the counter. “Hey. You look like you saw a ghost.”
“I think maybe that’s the case,” I mumbled, leaning on the glass display. “There’s this man. He helped me with my groceries a few weeks ago. But since then, I’ve been seeing him everywhere.”
A woman talking to her friend | Source: Midjourney
A woman talking to her friend | Source: Midjourney
Elaine raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure it’s the same man?”
I nodded.
“I’ve tried to take a picture of him, but every time something stops me,” I told him. “And earlier? He was outside. Across the street. Watching.”
Elaine’s smile faded. “That’s really scary, Mags. Maybe you should call the police.”
“And tell them what? ‘Hello, there’s a guy living near me and it makes me uncomfortable?’” I let out a humorless laugh. “I need proof. Something tangible.”
My stomach lurched as I glanced toward the window.
A woman looking at a jewelry store window | Source: Midjourney
A woman looking at a jewelry store window | Source: Midjourney
“He’s here. I just saw him outside the store,” I whispered. “See for yourself.”
Elaine walked to the door and glanced outside, then frowned.
“Maggie… there’s no one here.”
“That’s impossible!” I protested. “I just saw it.”
Elaine studied me carefully before speaking.
“Let’s check the security cameras,” she suggested. “If he was here, we’d see him.”
“Okay,” I said before heading towards his office.
My hands were shaking as she pulled out the footage and rewound it.
A woman using a laptop | Source: Pexels
A woman using a laptop | Source: Pexels
The footage showed me entering the store. But there was no one outside. No man. No figure standing across the street. Just empty space.
My stomach collapsed.
“Oh my God,” I whispered. “What’s happening to me?”
Elaine and I stared at the screen in silence. I replayed the footage because I couldn’t believe what was happening.
Yet there was nothing. No man. No shadow. Just me.
That’s when Elaine put a hand on my shoulder.
“Maggie, are you okay?” she asked.
A woman standing in a store | Source: Midjourney
A woman standing in a store | Source: Midjourney
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I saw it. I know I saw it.”
“Umm, Maggie…” she began. “Maybe you should talk to someone. A doctor, maybe? What do you think?”
I stood there, staring at her.
“A doctor? I… I don’t know…” I shrugged. “I think I need some answers first.”
And I knew exactly where to start.
I immediately left Elaine’s store and returned to the supermarket where I had first met him. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I approached the reception desk.
A close-up of a woman’s shoes | Source: Midjourney
A close-up of a woman’s shoes | Source: Midjourney
“Hello, I was here two weeks ago, and I think I lost my ring in the parking lot,” I lied. “Is there any way I can check your security footage?”
The attendant hesitated. “I’d have to ask the manager for permission, but… are you sure it was here?”
“Yes,” I said quickly, forcing a nervous smile. “I would really appreciate that.”
After a long pause, the director agreed. I sat next to them while they reassembled the footage in their office.
A man’s hand on a keyboard | Source: Pexels
A man’s hand on a keyboard | Source: Pexels
“There…” I said, watching myself walk to my car with the grocery bags.
I noticed myself pause as I got to the car. Then I started talking to someone.
But there was no one there.
I gasped. My hands shook as I gripped the edge of the desk.
“No,” I whispered. “It’s not possible.”
I watched myself smile, nod, and even reach out as if to shake. But the stranger wasn’t there.
I was alone.
A woman watches CCTV footage | Source: Midjourney
A woman watches CCTV footage | Source: Midjourney
“Madam, are you sure you lost the ring here?” the manager asked, glancing at me. “And… who were you talking to here?”
I didn’t answer. I just stood there, staring at the screen.
“Madam?” he said. “Are you all right?”
The manager looked quite worried, but I was too shocked to say anything. I struggled to catch my breath as I stumbled out of the office.
He wasn’t real. He never had been. The man I had seen, the man watching me… was in my head.
A man crossing the street | Source: Pexels
A man crossing the street | Source: Pexels
Once I calmed down, I went back to Elaine’s store. I almost tripped pushing open the door.
“Maggie, what happened?” she asked.
“He’s not real, Elaine,” I whispered. “The cameras… they didn’t see him. He was never there. That man never existed.”
“Maggie…” Elaine began. “I think you need to see someone.”
“No,” I shook my head. “I just need to figure out what’s going on. Maybe I’m just tired or stressed.”
Elaine sighed.
“Maggie, listen to me. You saw someone who isn’t there. You see them everywhere. It’s not just stress. It’s something serious.”
A woman talking to her friend | Source: Midjourney
A woman talking to her friend | Source: Midjourney
I rubbed my temples. “What if…”
“No ‘what ifs,’” she interrupted gently. “You need help. There’s no shame in that. Please talk to someone. A doctor, a therapist… anyone who can help you make sense of it all.”
I swallowed with difficulty.
At that moment, I didn’t want to accept what Elaine was saying. She thought I wasn’t well. She thought I needed help.
But deep down, I knew she was right.
“Okay…” I said after a long pause. “I’ll go.”
A worried woman talks to her friend | Source: Midjourney
A worried woman talks to her friend | Source: Midjourney
***
The waiting room smelled sterile, and the hum of quiet voices filled the space.
My hands fidgeted in my lap as I waited for my name to be called. Elaine sat next to me, making sure I was comfortable.
“Margaret?” a voice called from the hallway.
I exhaled sharply and stood up, following the nurse into a quiet office. A man with kind eyes and a calm demeanor greeted me as I sat down.
“I’m Dr. Levin,” he said. “Elaine told me a little about what happened. Why don’t you tell me in your own words?”
A doctor talks to his patient | Source: Midjourney
A doctor talks to his patient | Source: Midjourney
I hesitated, then took a deep breath.
“There is a man,” I began. “I see him everywhere. But… he’s not real.”
“And how do you know that?” asked Dr. Levin.
“The security footage proved it. I was talking to myself the whole time…”
Dr. Levin nodded thoughtfully.
“Maggie, after Elaine told me about your life and analyzed your situation, I believe what you are experiencing is related to prolonged grief,” he said.
“Prolonged mourning?” I repeated.
“Yes,” he replied. “When we experience intense loss, our minds sometimes try to create familiarity… something or someone that comforts us, even if it’s not real.”
I swallowed hard. I knew where this was going.
A woman looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
A woman looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
“So you’re saying I imagined it?” I asked.
“Not consciously,” he reassured me. “Your mind probably created it to cope with your grief. The fact that he helped you with your shopping? That’s significant. Was there anyone in your life who used to do that for you?”
“Yes,” I stammered. “My husband, Michael. He was always helping me with the shopping…”
Dr. Levin gave a small nod of understanding.
“Your mind may have taken that memory and transformed it into something tangible. This isn’t uncommon, especially with unresolved grief. You’re not losing your mind, Maggie. You’re grieving. And grief can be powerful.”
Tears welled up in my eyes.
A crying woman | Source: Pexels
A crying woman | Source: Pexels
For so long, I had run away from my grief, refusing to face the loneliness that had settled into my life after Michael’s death in a car accident. His sudden departure had left a void in my life that I tried to ignore.
Now that same emptiness was staring me straight in the face.
“Can it… stop? Will it go away?” I asked quietly.
“With time and the right support, yes,” he smiled. “Therapy, processing your loss, and acknowledging it… those are the first steps. And you don’t have to do it alone.”
“Okay,” I managed to say. “I’ll try.”
A woman sitting in a doctor’s office | Source: Midjourney
A woman sitting in a doctor’s office | Source: Midjourney
The first therapy session was the most difficult.
Talking about Michael, acknowledging the weight of his absence, and letting myself grieve instead of pushing him away. It was overwhelming.
But slowly, I began to feel lighter, as if the burden I had been carrying for so long was beginning to lift.
Elaine often checked on me, and for once, I didn’t push her away. I let her be there for me, I let her help me in ways I’d been too stubborn to accept before.
And let me tell you, the stranger did not reappear.
Neither in the cafe, nor across the street, nor in the supermarket parking lot.
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