14x01: My New Friend is a Cult Recruiter

[00:00:00] Verwandle deine Leidenschaft mit Shopify in ein Business und knack Umsatzrekorde mit dem Checkout mit der weltweit besten Conversion. Du hast richtig gehört, der Checkout mit der weltweit besten Conversion. Der legendäre Checkout von Shopify vereinfacht das Shoppen auf deiner Website bis hin zu Social Media und überall dazwischen. Na das ist Musik für deine Ohren. Wie du es auch drehst und wendest, mit Shopify kannst du zu einem echten Hip werden. Starte deinen Test noch heute für nur einen Euro pro Monat auf shopify.de.

[00:00:30] This podcast contains adult language and content. Listener discretion is advised. If you have a story to share, send it to letsnotmeetstories at gmail.com. Enjoy the show.

[00:01:10] I'm a 23-year-old female and I'm a bartender. I have experienced some crazy situations where I have been genuinely scared for my life, but the one I am about to share has got to be the worst. One day I was working a double at the restaurant.

[00:01:28] At around 11am, the FedEx guy came in with a package that needed to be signed for. So he came in and I signed for the package. Then as he turned away to leave, I told him have a good day with a smile and continued my shift as usual.

[00:01:45] It was either Friday or Saturday. I can't remember which specifically, but the restaurant got busy as the day wore on. As it got later, both the restaurant itself and our parking lot were full.

[00:01:59] I see many different people daily and at some point the FedEx driver returned. During this second interaction, he wasn't in his uniform, so understandably, I didn't recognize him. When he came in, he sat down at the bar and I started talking to him, as I do with all my customers.

[00:02:19] Then I proceeded to get him a drink, another drink, an entree, etc.

[00:02:25] As our conversation unfolded, it started rather normally. He asked me how long I had been working at the restaurant and if I liked it there. It felt like regular conversation with a bar guest until his questions started to become not so regular.

[00:02:43] Eventually, he asked me if I had a boyfriend and I said yes, so he changed the subject, but he kept backtracking.

[00:02:51] He was complimenting me, saying how beautiful I was every couple of minutes.

[00:02:56] Can I have your number? He asked.

[00:02:59] No, I don't think that my boyfriend would appreciate that, I replied.

[00:03:04] Well, what's your last name then? We could just be Facebook friends, he insisted.

[00:03:09] He became even more pushy as he continued pressing me for my phone number or social media details.

[00:03:17] I just kept laughing it off and politely declining.

[00:03:21] Then he said,

[00:03:22] I was actually here this morning dropping off a package with FedEx.

[00:03:27] You signed for it, so I came back just for you.

[00:03:32] I smiled, and while maintaining my customer service voice, I said,

[00:03:37] Of course, oh yeah, I remember you.

[00:03:41] Then I walked away, laughing it off.

[00:03:43] I then stepped into the back to vent to my manager.

[00:03:47] I let my manager know that this guy was being extra pushy and it was making me feel uncomfortable.

[00:03:53] About an hour later, he finally paid his tab and left.

[00:03:57] It was around 7pm and the restaurant was still busy.

[00:04:00] We didn't close until 10, so I was just thinking that was it.

[00:04:07] After we wrapped up dinner service, the remaining customers slowly trickled out until the restaurant was finally empty.

[00:04:15] At around 10.30, I was cleaning the bar.

[00:04:18] The whole front of the restaurant is made of large windows that face the parking lot,

[00:04:22] and when I looked up, I saw a car in the parking lot.

[00:04:28] The FedEx delivery driver, who had left hours earlier, was standing just outside next to the car.

[00:04:36] He was walking around it, and from what I could tell, it seemed like he was cleaning out the back seat.

[00:04:43] He had his doors open, and he was leaning in and out of his car with a bag in his hand.

[00:04:49] As soon as I realized it was him, who supposedly had left almost four hours prior, my heart sank.

[00:04:58] Why was he still here?

[00:05:00] Why was he cleaning out his back seat?

[00:05:04] I started to freak.

[00:05:05] My manager and I were the only people left in the restaurant, so I ran to her and told her everything,

[00:05:11] including his comment about coming back just for me.

[00:05:13] I told her that he had seemingly left four hours ago, and made her come out from the back,

[00:05:19] so that I could point him out to her in the parking lot.

[00:05:24] She said that she was going to call the police, but my boyfriend and I lived in an apartment

[00:05:27] that was only five minutes away from the restaurant, so I told her not to worry about that,

[00:05:32] and said that I'd just call my boyfriend to come to the restaurant to get me.

[00:05:37] I did just that, and my boyfriend told me he'd be there soon, so we hung up.

[00:05:42] My manager made me sit in the office until he arrived, so I didn't get to see the following

[00:05:48] events go down.

[00:05:50] My boyfriend, who was very protective, later told me that he pulled into the parking lot

[00:05:54] and saw the FedEx driver sitting in the driver's seat of his car.

[00:05:58] My boyfriend walked up to his car, knocked on the window, and motioned for him to roll

[00:06:03] it down.

[00:06:04] He did, and my boyfriend said something along the lines of,

[00:06:07] You need to get out of here.

[00:06:08] Now this is where the scariest part happens.

[00:06:12] This guy responded to him in a different language, mumbling and acting like he didn't speak English.

[00:06:19] To which my boyfriend said,

[00:06:21] I know you speak English, man.

[00:06:23] You've been talking with my girlfriend all night, and I need you to get out of here.

[00:06:28] The FedEx guy continued to ramble on until my boyfriend raised his voice and said,

[00:06:33] You have 15 seconds before I pull you out of this car.

[00:06:37] That's when the guy finally put the car in drive and sped off.

[00:06:42] I was on edge for weeks after this interaction and even considered switching jobs.

[00:06:47] It's just so sketchy that he was still in the parking lot that long after cashing out his tab.

[00:06:53] I've always been so sketched out about the fact that he was cleaning out the back seat too.

[00:06:59] To the creepy FedEx guy who returned as a bar guest and lingered for way too long,

[00:07:05] let's never meet again.

[00:07:24] This story dates back to spring 2016.

[00:07:28] At the time I was in my late 20s, and I was young and fit with long blonde hair.

[00:07:33] I was a total hippie chick who quit her job to travel the US with my then partner.

[00:07:40] Since it was pre-pandemic, it was just before the van life and tiny home movement really took off.

[00:07:47] We left our home in the Midwest in January of that year.

[00:07:51] After all the holiday celebrations were done, we said goodbye to our friends and family.

[00:07:57] Then, by April or early May, we made it to southern Texas

[00:08:01] and decided to check out Padre Island National Seashore.

[00:08:05] For those of you unfamiliar with Padre Island,

[00:08:08] it's a seashore that you can drive right onto with your vehicle.

[00:08:13] My then-partner and I were in a 26-foot class C1976 Chevy motorhome.

[00:08:21] We drove onto the island at nighttime and woke up the next morning

[00:08:25] to the most insane and phenomenal experience.

[00:08:29] The ocean was a mere 15 feet away.

[00:08:32] I mean, the visual was so breathtaking.

[00:08:35] I'll never forget it.

[00:08:37] We arrived there on a Thursday or Friday,

[00:08:39] and the beach was beyond packed.

[00:08:43] Another thing that I should mention for those who are unfamiliar with Padre Island,

[00:08:47] it is also where many Texans, particularly high schoolers and college kids,

[00:08:53] flock to for their spring break.

[00:08:55] From our understanding, spring break was the week before we got there,

[00:09:00] but it was so packed that it seemed like it was possibly still going on.

[00:09:05] Either way, the area was very busy,

[00:09:08] and we had an awesome weekend partying away.

[00:09:12] During this trip, we noticed that workers for the park would often drive down the beach.

[00:09:18] They are very protective of the sea turtle population there

[00:09:21] and would slowly drive by in marked vehicles a few times a day.

[00:09:26] When we woke on Monday morning,

[00:09:29] we found that the entire island had emptied out.

[00:09:32] What I mean by this is that it was literally empty.

[00:09:36] When you looked to the left and right, there was no one.

[00:09:39] We were the only ones to be seen out there for what seemed like miles.

[00:09:44] It was a gorgeous morning, so I walked my dog quickly

[00:09:48] and then came inside to sit at our pop-up dining room table to do some journaling.

[00:09:53] Meanwhile, my ex was asleep on the couch in the very back of the motorhome.

[00:10:00] Our windshield was facing the beautiful ocean,

[00:10:02] so of course, I took a seat and looked towards the amazing view.

[00:10:08] About 15 minutes into my journaling,

[00:10:10] a gray beat-up pickup truck drove by quickly heading towards the direction of the park entrance.

[00:10:17] That was the first activity I had seen on the island that morning,

[00:10:21] but I didn't think anything of it.

[00:10:23] However, about 5 to 10 minutes later,

[00:10:27] that same truck came driving past our RV.

[00:10:31] This time it crept much slower.

[00:10:33] The man driving the pickup was going so slow, in fact,

[00:10:37] that we made eye contact for several seconds as he cruised by.

[00:10:41] It seemed like he was intentionally driving closer to our vehicle

[00:10:45] in order to see inside better.

[00:10:48] Alarm bells should have been ringing for me at this point,

[00:10:52] but I kind of just shrugged off the whole thing.

[00:10:56] I was very much in my free spirit phase

[00:10:59] and wasn't easily put off by too many things.

[00:11:03] Now this is where it gets creepy.

[00:11:05] So obviously, this guy needed to turn back around

[00:11:09] since he was driving away from the park entrance.

[00:11:12] I knew this, but I was honestly just minding my own business

[00:11:15] so I essentially put him out of my mind immediately.

[00:11:19] But then, several minutes later,

[00:11:21] as I figured,

[00:11:23] I saw the man come back.

[00:11:25] However, this time,

[00:11:27] he pulled up directly to our RV with his truck.

[00:11:31] Our vehicles were essentially nose to nose

[00:11:33] at a 45 degree angle.

[00:11:36] It made it seem like he was going to give us a jump or something.

[00:11:39] It wasn't far-fetched for him to think that we possibly needed a jump,

[00:11:43] as we were in a vehicle from the 70s on a salty beach,

[00:11:47] but this also effectively blocked us in.

[00:11:51] At this point, my heart dropped and I began to get scared.

[00:11:55] I screamed my ex's name immediately

[00:11:57] and he sprang up from the couch

[00:11:59] since he could hear the panic in my voice.

[00:12:02] I'll never forget how quickly he got up

[00:12:04] and how he had his arms spread across the camper

[00:12:07] while he ducked down to see through the windshield.

[00:12:11] He was 6'5",

[00:12:12] and very bearded.

[00:12:14] Once the driver in the beat-up truck saw him,

[00:12:17] he sped off like a bat out of hell.

[00:12:20] I'm 1000% sure

[00:12:22] the only reason the man took off like that

[00:12:25] was because of my ex.

[00:12:27] As he sped out of there,

[00:12:29] my ex and I just looked at each other.

[00:12:31] We were dumbfounded,

[00:12:32] as that was the most unusual encounter on our trip yet.

[00:12:37] This really freaked me out,

[00:12:38] but I calmed down eventually

[00:12:40] and it took several minutes

[00:12:41] for my heart rate to return to normal.

[00:12:44] Surprisingly, we stayed for another week after that.

[00:12:47] We even stayed in that same exact spot.

[00:12:51] The idea never entered my head

[00:12:53] that the man could return

[00:12:54] with reinforcements for me or us.

[00:12:57] I was so very naively fearless back then.

[00:13:01] It wasn't until later

[00:13:03] that another fact dawned on me.

[00:13:06] When my ex and I arrived on Padre Island

[00:13:09] over the weekend,

[00:13:10] we only pulled out one camping chair.

[00:13:13] That singular camping chair

[00:13:15] was in plain sight next to our RV outside.

[00:13:19] When we stayed at other campsites,

[00:13:21] we had never done that.

[00:13:22] We always put both chairs out.

[00:13:25] But we ended up only using one chair

[00:13:27] as there was plenty of driftwood to sit on

[00:13:30] when we had our bonfires.

[00:13:32] When I thought about that,

[00:13:33] I realized that to onlookers,

[00:13:36] it easily seemed like

[00:13:38] I could have been by myself.

[00:13:40] I'm fully convinced that

[00:13:42] that scary man in the gray truck

[00:13:44] absolutely thought I was a young girl

[00:13:46] staying on the island alone.

[00:13:48] This detail in particular

[00:13:50] is why I still wonder,

[00:13:51] almost ten years later,

[00:13:53] what he had in mind

[00:13:55] for me that morning.

[00:14:11] Verwandle deine Leidenschaft

[00:14:13] mit Shopify in ein Business

[00:14:14] und knack Umsatzrekorde

[00:14:16] mit dem Checkout

[00:14:16] mit der weltweit besten Conversion.

[00:14:18] Du hast richtig gehört.

[00:14:20] Der Checkout

[00:14:20] mit der weltweit besten Conversion.

[00:14:23] Der legendäre Checkout

[00:14:24] von Shopify

[00:14:24] vereinfacht das Shoppen

[00:14:26] auf deiner Website

[00:14:27] bis hin zu Social Media

[00:14:28] und überall dazwischen.

[00:14:31] Na, das ist Musik für deine Ohren.

[00:14:32] Wie du es auch drehst und wendest,

[00:14:34] mit Shopify

[00:14:34] kannst du zu einem echten Hit werden.

[00:14:37] Starte deinen Test noch heute

[00:14:38] für nur einen Euro pro Monat

[00:14:39] auf Shopify.de

[00:14:40] slash rekorde.

[00:14:41] I was reminded of this story recently.

[00:14:44] I'm a female

[00:14:45] and this happened

[00:14:46] when a friend of mine and I

[00:14:48] were 15 years old.

[00:14:50] This was the early 90s

[00:14:52] and we were letting loose

[00:14:53] at a theme park

[00:14:54] that was so populated

[00:14:55] that it was easy to think

[00:14:56] that something scary

[00:14:58] would never even happen.

[00:15:00] Her mother and stepdad

[00:15:01] took us there

[00:15:02] as it was a designated work

[00:15:04] and school holiday

[00:15:05] even though rain was expected.

[00:15:08] Due to the rain,

[00:15:09] I thought that fewer people

[00:15:11] would be there

[00:15:12] but there were a lot

[00:15:13] of people there that day.

[00:15:15] My friend and I

[00:15:16] had been up for almost 24 hours

[00:15:18] as we were on a massive sugar high.

[00:15:20] We were all over the place

[00:15:22] being loud and manic

[00:15:23] laughing at stupid shit.

[00:15:26] Upon realizing this,

[00:15:27] my friend's mom

[00:15:28] made one thing clear.

[00:15:29] If the park employees

[00:15:31] thought that we were being

[00:15:32] unruly enough

[00:15:33] to be kicked out,

[00:15:34] we would be exiled

[00:15:36] to the car in the parking lot

[00:15:37] where we would freeze

[00:15:38] our asses off

[00:15:39] while they continued

[00:15:40] to have fun

[00:15:40] for hours on end.

[00:15:42] This was long before

[00:15:44] cell phones

[00:15:44] and the internet

[00:15:45] and we didn't bring

[00:15:47] any books or anything

[00:15:47] so that would have been

[00:15:48] hell for us.

[00:15:50] So we kept that in mind

[00:15:51] as much as we could.

[00:15:53] My friend and I

[00:15:54] ended up finding a ride

[00:15:55] that we really liked.

[00:15:57] So we kept riding

[00:15:58] that one ride.

[00:16:00] While we were still

[00:16:01] repeating this ride,

[00:16:02] it started to get late

[00:16:04] so the park cleared out

[00:16:05] significantly.

[00:16:06] Usually after midnight,

[00:16:08] ride operators

[00:16:09] would allow us

[00:16:09] to stay on a ride

[00:16:10] and go through

[00:16:11] multiple times

[00:16:12] as closing time

[00:16:13] was approaching

[00:16:14] and nobody was there.

[00:16:16] My friend and I

[00:16:17] were crashing

[00:16:18] and very sleep deprived

[00:16:19] at this point

[00:16:20] and likely looked intoxicated

[00:16:22] for all intents

[00:16:23] and purposes.

[00:16:25] These two guys

[00:16:26] running this particular ride

[00:16:28] kept making us

[00:16:29] go through the maze

[00:16:30] of the line

[00:16:31] to get back on the ride.

[00:16:33] It took minutes

[00:16:35] of us rushing

[00:16:35] to get off the ride

[00:16:36] through the lined maze

[00:16:38] and back to the front.

[00:16:40] Each time they made us

[00:16:41] repeat this,

[00:16:42] we got more and more

[00:16:44] tired and borderline delirious

[00:16:46] so we were laughing

[00:16:47] even more.

[00:16:49] What I didn't realize

[00:16:50] was that there was

[00:16:51] a method

[00:16:52] to the madness.

[00:16:54] The fourth time

[00:16:55] we went through,

[00:16:56] the guys running the ride

[00:16:57] asked us to come over

[00:16:58] to their side

[00:16:59] of the ride

[00:17:00] but we pointed out

[00:17:01] that we couldn't

[00:17:02] because we didn't want

[00:17:03] to jump the track.

[00:17:06] They let us

[00:17:06] on the ride again

[00:17:07] and when we got off

[00:17:08] they were right there,

[00:17:11] each taking one

[00:17:11] of our arms

[00:17:12] and forcibly guiding us

[00:17:14] into a part

[00:17:15] of the ride

[00:17:15] where only employees

[00:17:17] were permitted.

[00:17:18] It took me a minute

[00:17:20] to realize

[00:17:20] what was happening.

[00:17:22] These guys

[00:17:22] were on the tall side

[00:17:24] and at least

[00:17:24] college aged.

[00:17:26] I thought that

[00:17:27] they were twins

[00:17:27] at first

[00:17:28] but realized

[00:17:29] they just looked

[00:17:29] very similar

[00:17:30] due to wearing

[00:17:31] the same theme park

[00:17:32] uniforms

[00:17:33] and having

[00:17:34] identical haircuts.

[00:17:37] My friend and I

[00:17:38] were still giggling

[00:17:39] when I saw

[00:17:40] the looks on their faces.

[00:17:41] They looked determined

[00:17:43] and their heads

[00:17:44] were on a swivel.

[00:17:46] The lights

[00:17:46] were all still

[00:17:47] on at the park

[00:17:48] and the music

[00:17:49] was blaring

[00:17:50] but we realized

[00:17:51] we hadn't seen

[00:17:52] anyone else

[00:17:53] walking around

[00:17:54] in hours.

[00:17:55] We hadn't even

[00:17:56] seen the maintenance

[00:17:57] staff

[00:17:58] perpetually working

[00:17:59] on cleaning

[00:18:00] the park

[00:18:00] and nobody

[00:18:01] was operating

[00:18:02] food stands.

[00:18:03] It was a ghost town.

[00:18:05] The next thing

[00:18:06] I knew

[00:18:07] one of the guys

[00:18:08] was walking off

[00:18:09] with my friend

[00:18:09] and the other guy

[00:18:10] pushed my back

[00:18:11] against a door.

[00:18:12] This was not good.

[00:18:15] When I realized

[00:18:16] that we were

[00:18:17] in serious trouble

[00:18:18] I got a shot

[00:18:19] of adrenaline

[00:18:19] and a flash

[00:18:21] of insight.

[00:18:22] Even though

[00:18:23] there were cameras

[00:18:24] everywhere

[00:18:24] and we would be able

[00:18:25] to identify them

[00:18:26] they seemed

[00:18:28] to want to take

[00:18:29] this huge chance

[00:18:30] and mess with us

[00:18:31] still.

[00:18:34] I knew that

[00:18:35] my best bet

[00:18:35] was to act dumb

[00:18:36] like I had no idea

[00:18:38] what was going on

[00:18:39] so I gave a fake giggle

[00:18:40] and pretended to stumble

[00:18:42] into the guy

[00:18:43] who was with me.

[00:18:44] I started acting

[00:18:45] like I was about

[00:18:46] to puke

[00:18:46] so he backed

[00:18:48] away from me

[00:18:48] and pointed

[00:18:49] to a trash can.

[00:18:51] I went the other way

[00:18:52] and saw my friend

[00:18:54] was frozen

[00:18:54] with a terrified

[00:18:55] look on her face.

[00:18:57] I made my way

[00:18:58] over to her

[00:18:58] and swooped her

[00:18:59] up on my back

[00:19:00] like I was giving

[00:19:01] her a piggyback ride.

[00:19:03] She notoriously

[00:19:04] froze in certain

[00:19:05] situations

[00:19:05] due to her

[00:19:06] childhood trauma

[00:19:07] so this wasn't

[00:19:08] my first time

[00:19:09] doing this.

[00:19:10] Then I shot

[00:19:11] out of there

[00:19:12] with her on my back.

[00:19:14] The park

[00:19:14] was closing soon

[00:19:15] so once I was

[00:19:17] out of there

[00:19:17] I started running

[00:19:18] towards the gates.

[00:19:20] I was running

[00:19:21] so fast

[00:19:21] that my legs

[00:19:22] started giving out.

[00:19:24] As we were

[00:19:25] nearing the front

[00:19:25] my friend

[00:19:26] was slowly

[00:19:27] coming out

[00:19:28] of her frozen

[00:19:28] state

[00:19:29] and when her mom

[00:19:30] spotted us

[00:19:30] she waved us over.

[00:19:33] While we never

[00:19:34] told her mom

[00:19:35] or my mom

[00:19:35] what happened

[00:19:36] I told my dad's

[00:19:37] friend

[00:19:38] who had a daughter

[00:19:39] who worked

[00:19:39] at the park's offices

[00:19:40] that I wanted

[00:19:41] to interview her

[00:19:42] for my English

[00:19:43] class.

[00:19:45] A week later

[00:19:46] he gave me

[00:19:47] her number.

[00:19:48] When I called

[00:19:49] her

[00:19:49] I immediately

[00:19:50] blurted out

[00:19:51] what happened

[00:19:51] and asked her

[00:19:52] not to tell

[00:19:52] my parents.

[00:19:54] I gave her

[00:19:54] all the details

[00:19:55] and she told

[00:19:56] me not to worry

[00:19:56] and assured

[00:19:57] me that these

[00:19:58] guys would

[00:19:58] be let go

[00:19:59] and banned

[00:20:00] from the park

[00:20:01] before the next

[00:20:02] day.

[00:20:03] I went back

[00:20:04] to the park

[00:20:05] later that

[00:20:05] same year

[00:20:06] with a boyfriend

[00:20:07] and never

[00:20:07] saw either

[00:20:08] of those guys

[00:20:08] again.

[00:20:09] I'm very

[00:20:10] thankful

[00:20:10] that my dad's

[00:20:11] friend's daughter

[00:20:12] took my claims

[00:20:13] seriously.

[00:20:14] She told me

[00:20:15] that she understood

[00:20:16] as she had

[00:20:17] worked in the park

[00:20:18] as a teenager.

[00:20:20] I'm still

[00:20:21] friends with that

[00:20:21] lady all these

[00:20:22] years later.

[00:20:23] We occasionally

[00:20:24] use my story

[00:20:25] to warn her

[00:20:26] kids and

[00:20:27] grandkids

[00:20:28] that bad

[00:20:29] things can

[00:20:29] happen anywhere.

[00:20:40] I'm a female

[00:20:41] and this happened

[00:20:42] when I was in

[00:20:42] junior high school.

[00:20:44] I was 17

[00:20:45] years old

[00:20:45] when I met

[00:20:46] Leo who was

[00:20:46] 18.

[00:20:47] He was an

[00:20:48] immigrant from

[00:20:49] Guatemala.

[00:20:50] And was

[00:20:50] new to my

[00:20:51] school.

[00:20:52] We had

[00:20:52] several classes

[00:20:53] together and

[00:20:54] we both

[00:20:54] very much

[00:20:55] enjoyed choir.

[00:20:57] One day

[00:20:58] we were coming

[00:20:59] back from a

[00:21:00] choir trip and

[00:21:00] I mustered up

[00:21:01] the courage to

[00:21:02] sit with Leo

[00:21:03] on the bus

[00:21:03] and start a

[00:21:04] conversation.

[00:21:06] He charmed me

[00:21:07] immediately.

[00:21:08] We talked

[00:21:09] for three hours

[00:21:09] and enjoyed

[00:21:10] passing the time

[00:21:11] together.

[00:21:12] When he gave

[00:21:13] me a cute

[00:21:13] origami boat

[00:21:14] with his number

[00:21:15] and Snapchat

[00:21:16] written on it,

[00:21:17] I knew that

[00:21:18] I had fallen

[00:21:19] hard.

[00:21:20] We spent

[00:21:21] the next

[00:21:21] ten days

[00:21:22] messaging and

[00:21:23] snapping each

[00:21:23] other every

[00:21:24] single day.

[00:21:26] We also

[00:21:26] started sitting

[00:21:27] next to each

[00:21:28] other in

[00:21:28] every class

[00:21:29] that we had

[00:21:29] together and

[00:21:30] started eating

[00:21:31] lunch in the

[00:21:32] library.

[00:21:33] During this

[00:21:34] time, I

[00:21:35] began to notice

[00:21:36] a few red

[00:21:36] flags but quickly

[00:21:38] opted to ignore

[00:21:39] them since I

[00:21:40] assumed I was

[00:21:41] being crazy.

[00:21:43] The first thing

[00:21:44] I noticed was

[00:21:45] that any time I

[00:21:46] invited him to an

[00:21:46] activity outside of

[00:21:48] school, he

[00:21:49] would blatantly

[00:21:49] refuse.

[00:21:51] There was never

[00:21:52] any excuse or

[00:21:53] reason.

[00:21:54] His answer was

[00:21:55] simply, nope.

[00:21:57] I invited him to

[00:21:58] several things, even

[00:22:00] some with my

[00:22:01] family, but he

[00:22:02] never considered

[00:22:03] any of my

[00:22:04] invites.

[00:22:04] The next thing I

[00:22:06] noticed was that

[00:22:07] he would ask me

[00:22:08] questions but never

[00:22:09] allow me to answer

[00:22:10] them.

[00:22:11] He would just ask

[00:22:13] another question that

[00:22:14] was often more

[00:22:14] invasive than the

[00:22:16] original question

[00:22:17] right when I was

[00:22:18] beginning to

[00:22:18] respond.

[00:22:19] For example, he'd

[00:22:21] ask something like,

[00:22:22] what are you doing

[00:22:23] today?

[00:22:23] And I'd start to

[00:22:25] reply, oh, I'm

[00:22:26] only to be cut off

[00:22:28] by an invasive

[00:22:29] question like, how

[00:22:31] many boyfriends

[00:22:31] have you had?

[00:22:33] It was really

[00:22:34] strange.

[00:22:36] After we had been

[00:22:37] talking for almost

[00:22:38] a few weeks, I

[00:22:39] was walking my dog

[00:22:40] when I got a

[00:22:41] strange message

[00:22:42] from him.

[00:22:42] It said, I had a

[00:22:44] dream and I want

[00:22:45] to tell you

[00:22:46] about it.

[00:22:48] Initially, I was

[00:22:49] thrilled and

[00:22:49] curious, but then

[00:22:51] when he started

[00:22:52] sending me a bunch

[00:22:53] of messages, I

[00:22:55] got sick.

[00:22:56] The dream went

[00:22:57] on to describe a

[00:22:59] bunch of very

[00:23:00] detailed sexual

[00:23:01] fantasies about

[00:23:02] me.

[00:23:03] All of them were

[00:23:04] sickening and

[00:23:06] objectified my

[00:23:07] bodies in a way

[00:23:07] that no one would

[00:23:08] be comfortable

[00:23:09] with.

[00:23:10] He started telling

[00:23:11] me the types of

[00:23:12] nude photos he

[00:23:13] wanted to take of

[00:23:14] me and the

[00:23:15] things that he

[00:23:16] wanted me to be

[00:23:17] doing to myself

[00:23:18] in them.

[00:23:19] It wasn't sexy.

[00:23:20] It was scary.

[00:23:23] Then he told me

[00:23:24] how he wanted to

[00:23:25] start meeting up

[00:23:26] in secret several

[00:23:27] times a week.

[00:23:28] He said he

[00:23:29] didn't want anyone

[00:23:30] else to know

[00:23:30] about this.

[00:23:32] That was just

[00:23:33] too much for me,

[00:23:34] so I responded,

[00:23:35] no, please

[00:23:36] never talk to me

[00:23:37] again, and I

[00:23:38] blocked him on

[00:23:39] everything.

[00:23:41] Two months

[00:23:41] before he

[00:23:42] graduated, and

[00:23:43] one of our

[00:23:44] classes, he

[00:23:45] announced that

[00:23:45] he would be

[00:23:46] moving to

[00:23:46] California.

[00:23:48] Throughout those

[00:23:49] two months, he

[00:23:50] constantly tried to

[00:23:51] talk to me at

[00:23:52] school the way

[00:23:53] that he did

[00:23:54] at first, when

[00:23:56] we were harmlessly

[00:23:56] flirting, but I

[00:23:58] shut it down and

[00:23:59] told him I wasn't

[00:24:00] interested.

[00:24:01] I figured I was

[00:24:02] in the clear after

[00:24:03] that, but that

[00:24:04] was not the case.

[00:24:06] All summer long,

[00:24:07] I got messages from

[00:24:08] random numbers

[00:24:09] saying things like,

[00:24:10] you look pretty in

[00:24:11] that pink shirt.

[00:24:13] What did you just

[00:24:14] order?

[00:24:15] I ordered the

[00:24:16] burger.

[00:24:17] It sure is a nice

[00:24:19] day for the fair,

[00:24:20] right?

[00:24:22] Even though the

[00:24:23] numbers were random,

[00:24:24] the sender of these

[00:24:25] messages wasn't.

[00:24:26] It had to be him.

[00:24:28] Anytime I went out

[00:24:30] with friends, he was

[00:24:31] there.

[00:24:32] I would never see

[00:24:33] him, but he would

[00:24:34] message me something

[00:24:35] specifying that he

[00:24:36] was exactly where I

[00:24:37] was.

[00:24:38] Meanwhile, he was

[00:24:40] also posting photos

[00:24:41] on his Instagram of

[00:24:43] supposedly being in

[00:24:44] California.

[00:24:46] He was sharing his

[00:24:47] new life there,

[00:24:48] including how he

[00:24:50] found a new job and

[00:24:51] a place to live, but

[00:24:52] none of his pictures

[00:24:53] had his face in

[00:24:54] them.

[00:24:55] After that, I

[00:24:56] decided to delete

[00:24:57] all of my socials.

[00:24:59] I also changed my

[00:25:00] number.

[00:25:01] Eventually, after I

[00:25:03] graduated, my family

[00:25:05] moved to a new town

[00:25:06] and I followed.

[00:25:08] Leo clearly no longer

[00:25:10] knew where I was, yet

[00:25:12] I would still get

[00:25:12] messages and emails

[00:25:14] from him.

[00:25:15] Also, it was brought

[00:25:17] to my attention that

[00:25:18] he created several

[00:25:19] fake profiles trying

[00:25:20] to stalk my friends

[00:25:22] and family.

[00:25:24] This continued for

[00:25:25] three more years

[00:25:26] until one day, he

[00:25:28] just stopped.

[00:25:29] I never heard from

[00:25:31] him again.

[00:25:32] I eventually got back

[00:25:33] on social media, but

[00:25:35] I created new profiles

[00:25:36] and made everything

[00:25:37] private.

[00:25:38] I'm now married and

[00:25:40] killing it at my

[00:25:41] job, but I will

[00:25:42] never forget this

[00:25:43] awful experience.

[00:25:45] Every few years, it

[00:25:46] surfaces and plays

[00:25:48] through my mind on

[00:25:49] repeat for months.

[00:25:51] So, Leo, let's not

[00:25:52] meet.

[00:26:11] Verwande deine

[00:26:12] Leidenschaft mit

[00:26:12] Shopify in ein

[00:26:13] Business.

[00:26:14] Und knack

[00:26:14] Umsatzrekorde mit dem

[00:26:16] Checkout mit der

[00:26:16] weltweit besten

[00:26:17] Conversion.

[00:26:18] Du hast richtig

[00:26:18] gehört.

[00:26:19] Der Checkout mit der

[00:26:20] weltweit besten

[00:26:21] Conversion.

[00:26:22] Der legendäre

[00:26:23] Checkout von

[00:26:24] Shopify vereinfacht

[00:26:25] das Shoppen auf

[00:26:25] deiner Website bis hin

[00:26:27] zu Social Media und

[00:26:28] überall dazwischen.

[00:26:30] Na, das ist Musik

[00:26:31] für deine Ohren.

[00:26:32] Wie du es auch

[00:26:32] drehst und wendest,

[00:26:33] mit Shopify kannst du

[00:26:35] zu einem echten

[00:26:35] Hit werden.

[00:26:36] Starte deinen

[00:26:37] Test noch heute für

[00:26:38] nur einen Euro pro

[00:26:39] Monat auf

[00:26:39] Shopify.de

[00:26:40] Flashrekorde.

[00:26:41] This happened

[00:26:42] fairly recently.

[00:26:43] I was trying to

[00:26:44] catch a train to

[00:26:45] go to the city

[00:26:46] for a night of

[00:26:47] drinking with

[00:26:47] some friends.

[00:26:49] Unfortunately, the

[00:26:49] trains weren't

[00:26:50] running to the

[00:26:51] city center that

[00:26:52] day for whatever

[00:26:52] reason, so they

[00:26:54] were running a

[00:26:55] bus service

[00:26:55] instead.

[00:26:57] I toddled off,

[00:26:58] looking for where

[00:26:59] the replacement

[00:27:00] buses were in the

[00:27:01] train station.

[00:27:03] After wandering

[00:27:03] for a while, it

[00:27:04] seemed like I was

[00:27:05] on the right

[00:27:06] track.

[00:27:07] Just as I had

[00:27:08] found a very

[00:27:08] promising corridor,

[00:27:10] I heard running

[00:27:11] footsteps coming

[00:27:12] from behind me.

[00:27:13] I glanced around

[00:27:15] until I found a

[00:27:16] man sprinting and

[00:27:17] coming to a stop

[00:27:19] right beside me.

[00:27:20] He asked me if I

[00:27:22] knew where the

[00:27:23] replacement bus

[00:27:24] service was.

[00:27:25] I replied that I

[00:27:27] wasn't sure and

[00:27:28] added that I was

[00:27:29] probably just as

[00:27:30] lost as he was as

[00:27:31] I was trying to

[00:27:32] find it myself.

[00:27:34] I thought that

[00:27:35] that would be the

[00:27:35] end of our

[00:27:36] interaction, but he

[00:27:37] continued walking

[00:27:38] beside me.

[00:27:39] Fair enough, I

[00:27:40] thought.

[00:27:40] We were both

[00:27:41] looking for the

[00:27:42] same thing, so I

[00:27:43] figured he thought

[00:27:44] that we would

[00:27:45] stand a better

[00:27:45] chance finding it

[00:27:46] together.

[00:27:47] In retrospect, I

[00:27:49] wish I had turned

[00:27:50] around and darted

[00:27:52] into the bathroom or

[00:27:52] something like

[00:27:53] that.

[00:27:54] It turned out

[00:27:55] that the corridor

[00:27:56] that we were in

[00:27:57] did lead to the

[00:27:58] replacement bus,

[00:27:59] and we happened

[00:28:01] upon the driver

[00:28:02] who was standing

[00:28:03] outside the doors.

[00:28:05] He assured us that

[00:28:06] we had plenty of

[00:28:06] time to board and

[00:28:07] seat ourselves on

[00:28:08] the bus since we

[00:28:09] were the first ones

[00:28:10] there.

[00:28:11] Then he opened the

[00:28:12] doors and led us

[00:28:13] into the completely

[00:28:14] empty bus.

[00:28:15] I decided to take a

[00:28:17] random seat about

[00:28:18] halfway to the

[00:28:19] back of the bus,

[00:28:20] situated myself next

[00:28:21] to a window, and

[00:28:23] got ready to put my

[00:28:24] headphones on.

[00:28:25] So where did this

[00:28:26] guy choose to sit

[00:28:27] in the completely

[00:28:29] empty bus?

[00:28:31] Well, right next

[00:28:32] to me, effectively

[00:28:33] trapping me in a

[00:28:35] row of seats.

[00:28:36] While I thought that

[00:28:37] it was a little weird

[00:28:38] at the time, I

[00:28:39] figured that no harm

[00:28:40] would come of it.

[00:28:41] He asked why I was

[00:28:43] heading to the city

[00:28:44] center, and I told

[00:28:45] him that I was

[00:28:46] meeting with some

[00:28:46] friends there for a

[00:28:47] girls' night out.

[00:28:49] Then I put my

[00:28:50] headphones on and

[00:28:51] started searching

[00:28:52] for a good song

[00:28:53] to listen to.

[00:28:54] He insisted on

[00:28:55] joining us, but I

[00:28:56] told him I didn't

[00:28:57] know him well

[00:28:58] enough to invite

[00:28:59] him, and it was a

[00:29:00] girls' only thing

[00:29:01] anyway.

[00:29:02] He replied that we

[00:29:04] could get to know

[00:29:05] each other on the

[00:29:06] way, and that he'd

[00:29:07] buy me a drink when

[00:29:08] we got there.

[00:29:09] I thanked him for

[00:29:10] the offer, but

[00:29:11] declined and explained

[00:29:12] that I just wanted to

[00:29:13] see my friends.

[00:29:14] The bus had started

[00:29:16] moving at this point,

[00:29:17] and there were a few

[00:29:17] others on board.

[00:29:19] He proceeded to

[00:29:20] badger me with

[00:29:21] questions, all of

[00:29:23] which I ignored or

[00:29:24] only gave single-word

[00:29:26] answers to.

[00:29:27] As his questioning

[00:29:29] continued, my replies

[00:29:30] became variations of,

[00:29:32] I just want to

[00:29:33] listen to my music

[00:29:34] now, and I'm not

[00:29:36] interested in talking.

[00:29:38] Sorry.

[00:29:39] Then he started

[00:29:40] complimenting my body.

[00:29:42] He was telling me that

[00:29:44] I was beautiful and

[00:29:45] repeating, I really

[00:29:46] like you, over and

[00:29:48] over.

[00:29:49] He wasn't getting the

[00:29:50] hint, so I trimmed my

[00:29:51] responses until all I was

[00:29:54] saying was, leave me

[00:29:55] alone, every so often.

[00:29:58] As if my vocal cues

[00:30:00] weren't enough, I was

[00:30:01] also giving him visible

[00:30:02] cues by shrinking away

[00:30:05] from him, but he kept

[00:30:07] leaning in closer.

[00:30:09] Since this bus service

[00:30:11] was out of the norm, I

[00:30:13] had no idea where the

[00:30:14] next stop was, but I

[00:30:15] knew that the city

[00:30:16] center was ages away,

[00:30:18] and I was trapped in the

[00:30:20] seat by this guy, so I

[00:30:22] was really starting to

[00:30:23] panic.

[00:30:24] The guy then ramped up

[00:30:26] and told me that he

[00:30:27] loved me as he leaned

[00:30:29] up on me and made

[00:30:31] kissing noises from his

[00:30:32] lips.

[00:30:33] That was the moment when

[00:30:35] the hero in this story

[00:30:37] finally intervened.

[00:30:38] A man who appeared to

[00:30:40] be around my age was

[00:30:42] sitting a few seats back.

[00:30:43] He approached us and the

[00:30:45] conversation went as

[00:30:46] follows.

[00:30:47] Excuse me, mate, the

[00:30:49] hero chimed in.

[00:30:50] She's asked you multiple

[00:30:51] times, and you need to

[00:30:53] leave her alone.

[00:30:55] Fuck off, exclaimed the

[00:30:57] guy leaning on me through

[00:30:58] gritted teeth.

[00:31:00] You need to move away from

[00:31:01] her.

[00:31:02] She's clearly bothered by

[00:31:03] you, the hero continued.

[00:31:06] Mind your own business,

[00:31:08] we're fine, the creep

[00:31:09] insisted.

[00:31:10] The hero then turned to

[00:31:12] me and asked, do you

[00:31:14] want him to move?

[00:31:16] Practically pinned against

[00:31:17] the window, visibly scared,

[00:31:19] I sheepishly replied, yeah.

[00:31:22] Then the creep stood up,

[00:31:24] stormed up to the hero and

[00:31:26] shouted, do you want to

[00:31:27] fight?

[00:31:28] Do you want to fucking go

[00:31:29] right now?

[00:31:30] The hero then replied, no,

[00:31:33] I'd rather you get yourself

[00:31:35] under control and leave her

[00:31:36] alone.

[00:31:37] The creep was visibly

[00:31:39] readying himself to start

[00:31:40] throwing punches when the

[00:31:41] driver called back to us

[00:31:43] and said, is there a

[00:31:44] problem?

[00:31:45] Do I need to kick anyone

[00:31:46] off the bus?

[00:31:48] The creep quietly shook

[00:31:50] his head, skulked further

[00:31:52] back on the bus and

[00:31:53] relocated to a seat just a

[00:31:55] few seats behind the

[00:31:56] hero, much to my relief.

[00:31:59] I mouthed several thank

[00:32:01] yous to my hero who just

[00:32:02] smiled like it wasn't a

[00:32:04] big deal.

[00:32:06] The creep tried to follow me

[00:32:08] off the bus but my friends

[00:32:09] intercepted me immediately.

[00:32:11] We iced him out and he

[00:32:13] walked away defeated.

[00:32:15] I was very lucky that that

[00:32:17] guy was on the bus.

[00:32:18] I'm glad that he intervened

[00:32:20] when he did.

[00:32:34] I used to live in an awful

[00:32:36] neighborhood where there

[00:32:36] were constant issues.

[00:32:38] My partner and I were

[00:32:40] living there with my

[00:32:40] partner's brother, his

[00:32:42] wife, and their newborn

[00:32:43] baby.

[00:32:44] They had a strict no smoking

[00:32:46] in the house rule and no

[00:32:48] guests were allowed to go

[00:32:50] beyond the kitchen to

[00:32:51] protect the new baby.

[00:32:52] The layout of the house is

[00:32:54] important to know so let me

[00:32:56] briefly explain it.

[00:32:57] We were living in a

[00:32:58] townhouse on the corner and

[00:33:00] our driveway was tucked

[00:33:01] behind the house,

[00:33:02] essentially in the backyard

[00:33:04] so my neighbor's backyards

[00:33:06] were directly in front of

[00:33:07] where my car was parked.

[00:33:09] Due to the no smoking rule

[00:33:11] and not having a proper

[00:33:13] backyard, this meant that I

[00:33:15] often sat in my driveway to

[00:33:17] smoke with my friends.

[00:33:18] Sometimes we would hotbox and

[00:33:20] sometimes we would crack the

[00:33:21] windows.

[00:33:23] One night, my partner's

[00:33:25] brother was parked right

[00:33:26] beside me.

[00:33:27] My best friend, who we'll

[00:33:29] call Cece, was parked right

[00:33:31] behind me.

[00:33:32] This meant that my car was

[00:33:33] totally blocked in the

[00:33:34] driveway.

[00:33:36] Cece and I were out there

[00:33:37] getting our smoke on when we

[00:33:40] heard fighting from up the

[00:33:41] street.

[00:33:42] This wasn't anything short of

[00:33:44] unusual for nighttime in this

[00:33:46] active neighborhood.

[00:33:48] The next thing that we heard

[00:33:49] was someone hollering out,

[00:33:50] he stabbed him, he stabbed

[00:33:53] him, followed by screaming

[00:33:54] and sobbing, then inaudible

[00:33:57] yelling.

[00:33:58] A short while later, about

[00:34:00] nine police cars showed up

[00:34:01] and the many people who were

[00:34:03] at the house where this was

[00:34:05] happening scattered.

[00:34:07] Smoke was coming out of my

[00:34:08] car and if I opened my door,

[00:34:11] it would have been worse.

[00:34:12] I didn't want to draw

[00:34:14] attention from the police,

[00:34:15] so Cece and I stayed put.

[00:34:17] We figured that this was

[00:34:19] probably our safest option.

[00:34:21] Soon after that, a man

[00:34:23] appeared in the darkness.

[00:34:25] He was crouched against the

[00:34:27] house, peeking around the

[00:34:29] corner towards the police.

[00:34:31] Cece and I stayed as still as

[00:34:33] we could in my car as the man

[00:34:36] hadn't seen us yet.

[00:34:37] We quickly caught his eye, so

[00:34:40] he got on the ground and

[00:34:41] crawled from the side of the

[00:34:42] house until he was in between

[00:34:44] my partner's brother's car and

[00:34:46] my car.

[00:34:48] So, there was only a mere foot

[00:34:50] and a half between him and

[00:34:52] Cece.

[00:34:54] He leaned against my partner's

[00:34:56] brother's car and pulled up

[00:34:57] his hoodie, revealing both a

[00:34:59] gun and the handle of a

[00:35:01] knife.

[00:35:02] He then slowly brought his

[00:35:04] finger up to his pursed lips

[00:35:06] as if to say,

[00:35:07] Shh!

[00:35:09] We stayed put as he

[00:35:11] continued to maneuver around

[00:35:13] the cars, the house, and the

[00:35:15] trash cans.

[00:35:16] We watched as he slinked away

[00:35:19] while listening to the police

[00:35:20] who were still across the

[00:35:22] street and three houses

[00:35:23] down.

[00:35:24] Eventually, the man disappeared

[00:35:26] into the shadows entirely via

[00:35:28] the neighborhood backyards.

[00:35:30] A few minutes later, I turned

[00:35:32] on my car so that I could use

[00:35:34] my brights and see if he was

[00:35:36] still around.

[00:35:37] My brights cut into the next

[00:35:38] three backyards and I didn't

[00:35:40] see him, but Cece and I

[00:35:42] continued to stay in my car for

[00:35:44] another 20 minutes before

[00:35:46] booking it into the house.

[00:35:47] We woke up my partner's

[00:35:49] brother, who walked Cece back

[00:35:51] to her car with a baseball bat

[00:35:53] before thoroughly searching our

[00:35:55] side yard and the driveway.

[00:35:57] To the man who hid from the

[00:35:59] police by my car, I hope we

[00:36:01] never meet again.

[00:36:17] My mom and grandparents used

[00:36:19] to live in the same town for

[00:36:21] ages.

[00:36:22] My grandma was a physician.

[00:36:24] She's retired now.

[00:36:26] And my mom is a child

[00:36:27] psychologist.

[00:36:29] There aren't too many stores in

[00:36:30] our area, so the two of them

[00:36:32] frequented this one popular

[00:36:34] store and all the cashiers knew

[00:36:36] them very well.

[00:36:38] One winter day, my mom went to

[00:36:40] that store as usual.

[00:36:42] A little girl who appeared to be

[00:36:44] maybe 8 to 10 years old

[00:36:45] approached my mom and stood next

[00:36:47] to her as she was picking

[00:36:49] something up from a shelf.

[00:36:51] My mom looked at the little girl,

[00:36:52] expecting her to say something

[00:36:54] or ask for something, but the

[00:36:57] girl just stood there.

[00:36:58] My mom held onto the items she

[00:37:01] had just picked up and moved

[00:37:03] over to another shelf.

[00:37:05] A few seconds later, the girl

[00:37:07] followed and again stood silently

[00:37:10] next to my mom, looking at the

[00:37:12] items on the shelf along with her.

[00:37:14] My mom found this to be strange,

[00:37:16] so she moved again.

[00:37:18] She kept moving and finally lost

[00:37:21] the girl for a few minutes.

[00:37:23] Then, she saw the girl

[00:37:25] with a saleswoman.

[00:37:26] The girl was pointing at my mom

[00:37:28] and saying something, but my mom

[00:37:30] ignored it, went to the cashier,

[00:37:32] paid for her stuff, and left.

[00:37:35] When mom returned to the store

[00:37:37] the next day, the saleswoman

[00:37:39] approached her and said that the

[00:37:40] girl was asking them to call

[00:37:42] the police since she said that

[00:37:44] my mom was acting creepy

[00:37:45] towards her.

[00:37:46] They decided to check the cameras

[00:37:48] as the staff at the store knew

[00:37:50] my mom and my family very well.

[00:37:52] They even knew where we lived

[00:37:54] and everything.

[00:37:55] When they reviewed the camera

[00:37:57] footage, they saw that the girl

[00:37:58] was the one who was following

[00:38:00] my mom around the store

[00:38:02] and approached her first.

[00:38:04] It wasn't the other way around,

[00:38:06] like the girl was saying.

[00:38:08] The girl left quickly after talking

[00:38:10] to the salesperson that day.

[00:38:11] She exited the store by herself,

[00:38:14] and two men were waiting

[00:38:16] for her outside.

[00:38:18] A few weeks after all of this,

[00:38:20] my mom saw that same little girl

[00:38:22] on our street.

[00:38:23] She had two men on either side

[00:38:25] of her.

[00:38:27] My mom considered confronting them,

[00:38:29] but they were passing by very quickly,

[00:38:31] and our street was nearly empty

[00:38:33] when she saw them,

[00:38:34] so she didn't think that it would

[00:38:35] be wise to engage.

[00:38:38] After that,

[00:38:39] my mom never saw the little girl

[00:38:41] or the two men again.

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[00:39:18] Start your test today

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[00:39:23] So all of this started

[00:39:25] after I joined one of those

[00:39:27] Meet New Friends apps.

[00:39:29] Now I'm not a loser,

[00:39:30] I swear.

[00:39:31] I moved to my current city

[00:39:33] during the pandemic

[00:39:34] and have a work-from-home position.

[00:39:36] So I haven't been

[00:39:37] under the prime circumstances

[00:39:39] to acquire and nurture

[00:39:41] a social life.

[00:39:42] I matched with this random girl

[00:39:44] who we'll call Annie.

[00:39:46] I can't remember

[00:39:47] if I saw her first

[00:39:48] or vice versa.

[00:39:50] Anyways,

[00:39:51] honestly,

[00:39:52] I was paying more attention

[00:39:53] to the profiles

[00:39:54] rather than the pictures

[00:39:56] and she seemed okay.

[00:39:58] Once we got to talking,

[00:40:00] spirituality came up somehow.

[00:40:02] I can't remember

[00:40:03] how this happened either,

[00:40:04] but to be fair,

[00:40:06] either one of us

[00:40:06] could have brought it up.

[00:40:08] I had recently been

[00:40:09] seriously following

[00:40:11] Norse paganism,

[00:40:12] but it wasn't something

[00:40:14] I was seeking to explore

[00:40:15] with other people.

[00:40:17] It was mostly

[00:40:18] a private thing for me,

[00:40:19] but that doesn't mean

[00:40:20] that I was closed

[00:40:22] to the experience entirely.

[00:40:24] So when Annie mentioned

[00:40:26] having an LGBTQ

[00:40:29] neurodivergent

[00:40:29] pagan femme coven,

[00:40:32] I remember thinking,

[00:40:34] okay, wow,

[00:40:34] that's either very specific

[00:40:36] or very broad.

[00:40:38] But hey,

[00:40:39] why not?

[00:40:40] Maybe it'll be fun.

[00:40:41] So we agreed to meet first

[00:40:43] before I attended

[00:40:44] the event with them.

[00:40:46] The only weird thing

[00:40:47] that stuck out

[00:40:48] in our text conversation

[00:40:50] was that she said

[00:40:51] her partner

[00:40:52] was in some sort of

[00:40:53] bizarre Scientology rehab.

[00:40:55] At first,

[00:40:56] I assumed

[00:40:57] this was a place

[00:40:58] where one could

[00:40:59] recover from Scientology.

[00:41:01] I tried to get

[00:41:02] more information.

[00:41:03] I asked her

[00:41:04] if her partner

[00:41:05] was still a Scientologist,

[00:41:07] but I couldn't

[00:41:08] get an answer.

[00:41:10] When I met up

[00:41:11] with Annie in person,

[00:41:12] we met for

[00:41:13] an hour to have coffee.

[00:41:15] I think I would

[00:41:16] have seen red flags

[00:41:17] if we had more time

[00:41:19] during that initial meetup.

[00:41:21] There were little things

[00:41:22] that I kind of

[00:41:23] clocked on my radar,

[00:41:25] but nothing seemed

[00:41:26] that weird.

[00:41:28] I did find,

[00:41:29] however,

[00:41:29] that I kept giving her

[00:41:30] the benefit of the doubt,

[00:41:31] and I regretted

[00:41:33] not circling back

[00:41:34] to ask about

[00:41:35] the whole Scientology thing.

[00:41:36] I also intended

[00:41:38] to Google

[00:41:38] Scientology rehab,

[00:41:40] but I kept

[00:41:41] forgetting to do so.

[00:41:42] I have since

[00:41:43] Googled that term,

[00:41:44] but never found

[00:41:45] anything tangible

[00:41:46] about rehabilitation

[00:41:48] for ex-Scientologists,

[00:41:50] so I wish

[00:41:51] I had done that sooner.

[00:41:54] The things that

[00:41:55] stuck out to me

[00:41:56] during that

[00:41:56] first meeting

[00:41:57] with her

[00:41:58] were relatively

[00:41:58] benign

[00:41:59] out of context,

[00:42:01] but the first thing

[00:42:02] I noticed

[00:42:03] was that she

[00:42:04] wouldn't answer

[00:42:04] any questions

[00:42:05] about herself

[00:42:06] directly.

[00:42:07] This was not

[00:42:08] from lack of asking.

[00:42:10] I'm the kind

[00:42:11] of person

[00:42:11] who is conscious

[00:42:12] of when the

[00:42:13] attention is all

[00:42:14] on me,

[00:42:15] so it made me

[00:42:16] uncomfortable

[00:42:17] that I didn't

[00:42:17] learn anything

[00:42:18] specific about her,

[00:42:20] really.

[00:42:21] Most of what

[00:42:22] she said

[00:42:23] had to do

[00:42:23] with her

[00:42:24] spiritual awakening,

[00:42:25] which in and of

[00:42:26] itself sounded

[00:42:27] pretty weird.

[00:42:29] She said

[00:42:29] she had a

[00:42:30] realization

[00:42:31] that she was

[00:42:32] like a lighthouse

[00:42:33] that was drawing

[00:42:35] people up

[00:42:35] toward their

[00:42:36] personal

[00:42:37] enlightenment.

[00:42:38] I thought

[00:42:39] that this was

[00:42:40] strange,

[00:42:40] but I chalked

[00:42:41] it up to

[00:42:41] it being

[00:42:42] personal to

[00:42:43] her,

[00:42:43] as her

[00:42:44] personal beliefs

[00:42:45] are subjective.

[00:42:47] Reincarnation

[00:42:47] came up as well.

[00:42:49] Reincarnation

[00:42:49] is a big part

[00:42:50] of paganism.

[00:42:51] She told me

[00:42:52] that she didn't

[00:42:52] think she had

[00:42:53] any past lives

[00:42:54] and was a

[00:42:55] quote,

[00:42:56] new soul,

[00:42:57] unquote,

[00:42:57] which didn't

[00:42:58] make a lot

[00:42:58] of sense,

[00:42:59] but I figured,

[00:43:00] not my circus,

[00:43:01] not my monkeys.

[00:43:03] This vaguely

[00:43:04] supernatural element

[00:43:05] that she was

[00:43:06] placing on

[00:43:07] herself was

[00:43:07] strange,

[00:43:08] and a lot of

[00:43:09] people want to

[00:43:10] feel special,

[00:43:11] but that didn't

[00:43:12] mean I had to

[00:43:12] believe it myself.

[00:43:14] At one point

[00:43:15] during this

[00:43:16] conversation,

[00:43:17] I told her

[00:43:18] about this

[00:43:18] random woman

[00:43:19] that I met

[00:43:20] at a pagan

[00:43:20] festival who

[00:43:21] tried to

[00:43:22] con me.

[00:43:23] She wanted

[00:43:24] to charge

[00:43:24] me so that

[00:43:25] she could

[00:43:25] consider me

[00:43:26] under her

[00:43:27] wing or

[00:43:28] whatever,

[00:43:29] but I didn't

[00:43:30] need someone

[00:43:30] to protect

[00:43:31] or guide me

[00:43:32] so I

[00:43:32] declined.

[00:43:33] As I was

[00:43:34] telling my

[00:43:34] story,

[00:43:35] I could tell

[00:43:35] that Annie

[00:43:36] felt conflicted.

[00:43:37] I could tell

[00:43:38] that she

[00:43:39] wanted to

[00:43:40] agree,

[00:43:40] but didn't.

[00:43:41] Finally,

[00:43:42] she said

[00:43:42] something about

[00:43:43] how it was

[00:43:43] only inappropriate

[00:43:44] because the

[00:43:45] student

[00:43:46] shouldn't

[00:43:47] choose the

[00:43:48] teacher,

[00:43:49] so I

[00:43:49] clarified that

[00:43:50] I didn't

[00:43:51] want a

[00:43:51] teacher.

[00:43:53] Besides that

[00:43:54] part of the

[00:43:54] conversation,

[00:43:55] her responses

[00:43:56] were otherwise

[00:43:56] very mirroring.

[00:43:58] But I'm not

[00:43:59] a moron.

[00:44:00] this was

[00:44:01] giving me

[00:44:01] a weird

[00:44:01] sense that

[00:44:02] she wasn't

[00:44:03] being honest

[00:44:03] with me and

[00:44:04] that she was

[00:44:05] telling me things

[00:44:06] that I wanted

[00:44:06] to hear,

[00:44:07] so I told

[00:44:08] myself that

[00:44:09] she was

[00:44:09] probably just

[00:44:10] nervous.

[00:44:12] So,

[00:44:12] I could tell

[00:44:13] things were a

[00:44:14] bit off after

[00:44:14] that first

[00:44:15] meeting,

[00:44:15] but I didn't

[00:44:16] want to be

[00:44:17] paranoid.

[00:44:18] I don't trust

[00:44:19] people easily,

[00:44:20] and I know

[00:44:21] that,

[00:44:21] so I was

[00:44:22] trying to

[00:44:23] loosen up and

[00:44:24] be more

[00:44:24] chill,

[00:44:25] which wound

[00:44:26] up being a

[00:44:27] big mistake.

[00:44:29] So then,

[00:44:30] I went to

[00:44:31] this event

[00:44:31] that she

[00:44:31] invited me

[00:44:32] to,

[00:44:32] and it

[00:44:34] was immediately

[00:44:34] weird.

[00:44:35] I mean

[00:44:36] immediately.

[00:44:37] The second

[00:44:38] I set foot

[00:44:39] in that

[00:44:40] house,

[00:44:40] I was

[00:44:41] uncomfortable.

[00:44:42] It was

[00:44:43] filled with

[00:44:44] people,

[00:44:44] but completely

[00:44:45] silent.

[00:44:46] Everyone was

[00:44:47] looking at

[00:44:47] me.

[00:44:48] I laughed

[00:44:49] a bit and

[00:44:50] said hi as

[00:44:51] I was

[00:44:52] passing people,

[00:44:53] but nobody

[00:44:53] was responding.

[00:44:55] Yet,

[00:44:55] there I was

[00:44:56] awkwardly

[00:44:57] dropping my

[00:44:57] keys and

[00:44:58] phone,

[00:44:59] trying to

[00:45:00] settle in

[00:45:00] while everyone

[00:45:01] was just

[00:45:02] watching me.

[00:45:04] Eventually,

[00:45:05] I took a

[00:45:06] seat on

[00:45:06] this short

[00:45:07] couch,

[00:45:08] since there

[00:45:08] was no

[00:45:08] room in

[00:45:09] the large

[00:45:10] circle.

[00:45:11] Everyone was

[00:45:12] in this

[00:45:13] small living

[00:45:13] room.

[00:45:14] There were

[00:45:14] about 20

[00:45:15] people circled

[00:45:16] up.

[00:45:17] There was

[00:45:18] a cushion

[00:45:18] on the

[00:45:18] couch,

[00:45:19] so I

[00:45:19] sat on

[00:45:20] that as

[00:45:21] the leader

[00:45:21] started

[00:45:27] leaning.

[00:45:28] was curious.

[00:45:29] Out of the

[00:45:30] corner of my

[00:45:30] eye, I saw

[00:45:32] that the leader

[00:45:32] was trying to

[00:45:33] look at me,

[00:45:34] but the girl

[00:45:35] sitting in front

[00:45:35] of me was

[00:45:36] partially obscuring

[00:45:37] our view of

[00:45:38] each other,

[00:45:39] so the leader

[00:45:40] was leaning to

[00:45:41] try and meet my

[00:45:42] gaze.

[00:45:43] Finally, I

[00:45:44] felt awkward

[00:45:45] enough, which

[00:45:46] pushed me to

[00:45:47] engage, so I

[00:45:48] shifted over,

[00:45:49] leaning against

[00:45:49] the arm of

[00:45:50] the couch.

[00:45:51] Staying perched

[00:45:52] on the cushion

[00:45:53] while leaning

[00:45:54] quickly got

[00:45:55] uncomfortable, so

[00:45:56] I shifted

[00:45:56] again.

[00:45:57] I spread

[00:45:58] myself out a

[00:45:59] bit more.

[00:46:00] The leader

[00:46:01] ended the

[00:46:01] speech with,

[00:46:02] So,

[00:46:03] essentially,

[00:46:04] just spread

[00:46:05] out, I

[00:46:06] guess.

[00:46:07] This was

[00:46:08] clearly directed

[00:46:09] at me,

[00:46:10] and my

[00:46:11] fidgeting,

[00:46:11] but it

[00:46:12] was said

[00:46:13] with some

[00:46:13] humor, so

[00:46:14] I wasn't

[00:46:15] sure what to

[00:46:16] make of it.

[00:46:17] Everyone

[00:46:18] introduced

[00:46:18] themselves, and

[00:46:19] each person

[00:46:20] was their own

[00:46:21] unique brand

[00:46:22] of neurodivergent.

[00:46:24] I'm ADHD,

[00:46:25] but I

[00:46:26] personally don't

[00:46:26] subscribe to

[00:46:27] labels beyond

[00:46:28] the requirement

[00:46:29] to stay

[00:46:29] medicated.

[00:46:31] I've been

[00:46:31] medicated since

[00:46:32] 2015, so

[00:46:34] it's not a

[00:46:34] new diagnosis

[00:46:35] for me.

[00:46:36] That was the

[00:46:37] only question

[00:46:37] we were asked

[00:46:38] about ourselves

[00:46:39] beyond our

[00:46:40] name.

[00:46:41] Then the

[00:46:42] leader guided

[00:46:43] the group

[00:46:43] through this

[00:46:44] meditation, and

[00:46:45] some people

[00:46:46] were making

[00:46:46] these weird

[00:46:47] breathing sounds

[00:46:48] and humming.

[00:46:49] I understood

[00:46:51] since it was a

[00:46:52] spiritual meditation,

[00:46:53] but unfortunately,

[00:46:54] due to my

[00:46:55] ADHD, in

[00:46:56] general, I

[00:46:57] couldn't focus

[00:46:58] to save my

[00:46:58] life, so I

[00:47:00] couldn't follow

[00:47:01] the guided

[00:47:02] meditation.

[00:47:02] attention.

[00:47:04] I was sitting

[00:47:05] there with my

[00:47:06] eyes closed,

[00:47:07] barely paying

[00:47:08] attention because

[00:47:09] that's all I

[00:47:10] could really do,

[00:47:11] but I caught

[00:47:12] the part where

[00:47:12] the leader said

[00:47:13] that we should

[00:47:14] think of anything

[00:47:15] that we would

[00:47:16] want to ask

[00:47:16] her or need

[00:47:18] from her,

[00:47:19] which got my

[00:47:20] attention.

[00:47:21] I remember

[00:47:21] thinking,

[00:47:22] what the fuck

[00:47:23] do I need to

[00:47:24] ask her?

[00:47:25] Other than,

[00:47:26] where are the

[00:47:26] snacks?

[00:47:27] I paid $8 to

[00:47:28] come to this

[00:47:29] thing and there

[00:47:29] wasn't a single

[00:47:30] snack to be seen.

[00:47:33] Once the

[00:47:33] meditation ended,

[00:47:35] Annie and the

[00:47:35] leader walked

[00:47:36] around to give

[00:47:37] us materials for

[00:47:38] an activity.

[00:47:40] Annie gave me

[00:47:41] two long pieces

[00:47:42] of twine and

[00:47:43] the leader gave

[00:47:44] me two sticks.

[00:47:46] As the leader

[00:47:46] was handing me

[00:47:47] the sticks, I

[00:47:48] asked her where

[00:47:49] the snacks were.

[00:47:50] She said,

[00:47:51] in the kitchen,

[00:47:52] on the table,

[00:47:53] where snacks tend

[00:47:54] to be.

[00:47:56] Now, I'm a

[00:47:57] sarcastic person,

[00:47:58] so I thought that

[00:47:59] maybe that was

[00:48:00] just her brand

[00:48:01] of humor too.

[00:48:01] So I laughed

[00:48:03] and played along,

[00:48:04] saying,

[00:48:05] oh, right,

[00:48:06] I think I should

[00:48:07] be able to find

[00:48:07] them there.

[00:48:09] She replied with

[00:48:10] a deadpan,

[00:48:12] unsmiling,

[00:48:13] mm-hmm,

[00:48:14] and then walked

[00:48:15] away.

[00:48:17] I assumed that

[00:48:18] she was just

[00:48:18] a dry person,

[00:48:19] but then I saw

[00:48:20] her laughing

[00:48:21] with the other

[00:48:22] girls.

[00:48:24] This is when I

[00:48:25] realized something

[00:48:26] was off.

[00:48:27] As the activity

[00:48:28] commenced,

[00:48:29] she went back

[00:48:30] over to Annie

[00:48:30] and started

[00:48:31] stroking her

[00:48:32] back,

[00:48:33] kissing her hair,

[00:48:34] and giving me

[00:48:35] this creepy

[00:48:36] smile.

[00:48:38] It was very

[00:48:39] strange.

[00:48:39] I was so

[00:48:40] uncomfortable that

[00:48:42] I wanted to get

[00:48:42] up and go,

[00:48:43] but I didn't want

[00:48:44] to disrupt the

[00:48:45] damn activity.

[00:48:47] The activity

[00:48:47] itself was the

[00:48:48] last straw,

[00:48:49] though.

[00:48:50] They wanted us

[00:48:51] to think of

[00:48:52] something that

[00:48:52] brought us pain.

[00:48:53] They wanted us

[00:48:54] to think of

[00:48:55] something that we

[00:48:55] would want to

[00:48:56] discard from our

[00:48:57] lives.

[00:48:58] Then they

[00:48:59] wanted us to

[00:49:00] demonstrate how

[00:49:01] bad that thing

[00:49:02] we picked made

[00:49:03] us feel,

[00:49:04] as we slowly

[00:49:05] twisted the piece

[00:49:06] of twine around

[00:49:07] the stick.

[00:49:09] I was glancing

[00:49:10] around,

[00:49:11] trying to gauge

[00:49:12] what others

[00:49:13] thought of the

[00:49:13] activity,

[00:49:14] since,

[00:49:14] to me,

[00:49:15] it was something

[00:49:16] I'd only ever

[00:49:17] do with my

[00:49:17] therapist,

[00:49:18] but some people

[00:49:19] were emotionally

[00:49:20] melting down

[00:49:21] before long.

[00:49:23] I wasn't

[00:49:24] comfortable doing

[00:49:25] the activity

[00:49:26] for obvious

[00:49:27] reasons,

[00:49:28] so I sat

[00:49:28] there awkwardly

[00:49:29] with the

[00:49:29] sticks and

[00:49:30] the string

[00:49:30] in my lap.

[00:49:32] I was the

[00:49:33] only one

[00:49:34] not doing it,

[00:49:35] which was

[00:49:36] glaringly

[00:49:36] obvious,

[00:49:38] but since I

[00:49:39] wasn't doing

[00:49:39] it,

[00:49:40] I had the

[00:49:40] opportunity to

[00:49:41] watch Annie

[00:49:41] and the

[00:49:42] leader,

[00:49:43] and it was

[00:49:44] chilling.

[00:49:45] Annie was

[00:49:46] doing some

[00:49:46] weird pyramid

[00:49:47] gesture with

[00:49:48] her arms

[00:49:48] above her

[00:49:49] head.

[00:49:50] There were a

[00:49:51] lot of

[00:49:51] references to

[00:49:52] her being

[00:49:52] a lighthouse

[00:49:53] or some

[00:49:54] sort of

[00:49:54] guiding figure

[00:49:55] throughout

[00:49:56] the meeting.

[00:49:57] That's when

[00:49:58] it suddenly

[00:49:59] occurred to

[00:49:59] me that

[00:50:00] Annie had

[00:50:01] been using

[00:50:01] the friendship

[00:50:02] seeking app

[00:50:03] just to

[00:50:03] bring people

[00:50:04] into their

[00:50:04] group.

[00:50:05] This

[00:50:06] realization

[00:50:06] hit me

[00:50:07] when I

[00:50:07] noticed that

[00:50:08] she was

[00:50:08] the only

[00:50:09] person who

[00:50:09] seemed to

[00:50:10] know everyone,

[00:50:11] yet no one

[00:50:13] knew each

[00:50:13] other.

[00:50:15] Even the

[00:50:15] fact that

[00:50:16] she referred

[00:50:17] to this

[00:50:17] group as

[00:50:17] an LGBTQ

[00:50:20] neurodivergent

[00:50:20] pagan

[00:50:21] femme

[00:50:21] coven

[00:50:22] during our

[00:50:23] first meeting

[00:50:23] now made

[00:50:24] sense.

[00:50:25] They weren't

[00:50:26] being specific,

[00:50:27] they were

[00:50:28] casting this

[00:50:29] wide net,

[00:50:30] and it

[00:50:30] made my

[00:50:31] stomach

[00:50:31] turn.

[00:50:32] So,

[00:50:33] I was

[00:50:34] done after

[00:50:34] I realized

[00:50:35] all of that.

[00:50:36] But I

[00:50:37] couldn't get

[00:50:37] up since

[00:50:37] people were

[00:50:38] now opening

[00:50:39] up and

[00:50:39] sharing their

[00:50:40] experiences,

[00:50:41] pouring their

[00:50:42] hearts out.

[00:50:43] This was the

[00:50:44] most fucked

[00:50:44] up part of

[00:50:45] it, in my

[00:50:46] opinion.

[00:50:46] It was

[00:50:47] manipulative

[00:50:48] of them

[00:50:49] to conduct

[00:50:49] a releasing

[00:50:50] ceremony that

[00:50:52] forced people

[00:50:52] to feel and

[00:50:53] expose their

[00:50:54] trauma,

[00:50:54] especially at

[00:50:56] the very first

[00:50:57] meeting.

[00:50:57] I knew I

[00:50:58] wanted to get

[00:50:59] out of there,

[00:50:59] but I didn't

[00:51:00] want to

[00:51:00] disrespect those

[00:51:01] who went

[00:51:02] along with

[00:51:03] the activity.

[00:51:04] So many

[00:51:05] people were

[00:51:05] emotional from

[00:51:06] opening up.

[00:51:07] Someone was

[00:51:08] literally crying

[00:51:09] onto my

[00:51:10] shoes that I

[00:51:11] left by the

[00:51:12] door.

[00:51:13] So I had

[00:51:14] to wait for

[00:51:14] the best time

[00:51:15] to ask someone

[00:51:16] to pass them

[00:51:16] to me.

[00:51:17] When I

[00:51:18] finally got

[00:51:18] up, I

[00:51:19] told everyone

[00:51:19] that I had

[00:51:20] to go get

[00:51:20] something from

[00:51:21] my car, and

[00:51:22] then took

[00:51:23] off.

[00:51:24] As I

[00:51:24] left, I

[00:51:25] texted Annie

[00:51:26] and told her

[00:51:27] I wouldn't be

[00:51:28] back, and

[00:51:28] that I hoped

[00:51:29] she found

[00:51:30] quote-unquote

[00:51:30] her people.

[00:51:33] Afterward,

[00:51:34] the girl who

[00:51:35] ran it texted

[00:51:36] me, and I

[00:51:37] let her know

[00:51:37] my concerns

[00:51:38] about having

[00:51:39] that kind of

[00:51:39] activity with

[00:51:41] such a

[00:51:41] vulnerable

[00:51:42] group.

[00:51:43] She let me

[00:51:44] know that she

[00:51:44] had certifications

[00:51:45] and said that

[00:51:46] I was the

[00:51:47] only one who

[00:51:48] had a problem

[00:51:48] with the

[00:51:49] activity.

[00:51:50] Then she

[00:51:51] accused me of

[00:51:52] projecting my

[00:51:53] trauma, and

[00:51:54] even had the

[00:51:54] audacity to

[00:51:56] apologize for

[00:51:57] the imaginary

[00:51:57] trauma she

[00:51:58] assumed I

[00:51:59] had.

[00:52:00] All in

[00:52:01] all, our

[00:52:02] conversation went

[00:52:03] nowhere, but

[00:52:04] I let her know

[00:52:04] I disagreed with

[00:52:05] what they were

[00:52:05] doing and would

[00:52:06] absolutely not

[00:52:07] be returning.

[00:52:08] I also said

[00:52:09] that I thought

[00:52:10] it was wrong

[00:52:11] that they were

[00:52:11] using the

[00:52:12] friendship app

[00:52:13] to recruit

[00:52:14] people into

[00:52:15] the group, but

[00:52:16] she denied

[00:52:17] this entirely.

[00:52:19] As I was

[00:52:20] putting myself

[00:52:20] past this, I

[00:52:22] logged back onto

[00:52:23] the friendship

[00:52:23] app, since I

[00:52:25] had new matches

[00:52:26] and messages.

[00:52:27] One of them

[00:52:28] seemed normal at

[00:52:29] first.

[00:52:30] We were talking

[00:52:31] about video games,

[00:52:32] and she asked

[00:52:33] me about Zelda.

[00:52:34] Zelda is my

[00:52:35] default name on a

[00:52:36] lot of social

[00:52:37] media, and people

[00:52:38] typically assume

[00:52:39] it's because of

[00:52:40] the video games,

[00:52:41] but I'm actually

[00:52:42] weirdly obsessed

[00:52:43] with Zelda

[00:52:44] Fitzgerald, since

[00:52:45] I'm a lit

[00:52:46] nerd.

[00:52:48] Anyway, she

[00:52:49] said, I would

[00:52:50] love to get

[00:52:51] together and hear

[00:52:51] more about what

[00:52:52] Zelda means to

[00:52:53] you.

[00:52:54] Alarm bells were

[00:52:56] ringing when she

[00:52:57] said that because

[00:52:58] who talks like

[00:52:59] that?

[00:53:00] So I took a look

[00:53:01] at her profile, and

[00:53:03] there was no

[00:53:04] mention of

[00:53:04] spirituality.

[00:53:06] And I just

[00:53:07] outright asked

[00:53:08] her about Annie

[00:53:09] in the group, and

[00:53:10] it turns out, she

[00:53:11] was a part of

[00:53:12] it.

[00:53:13] I found this

[00:53:14] particularly

[00:53:14] interesting, since

[00:53:16] the leader of

[00:53:17] the group denied

[00:53:17] using the app to

[00:53:18] recruit, yet the

[00:53:20] very next person I

[00:53:21] talked to on the

[00:53:22] app was also in

[00:53:24] the group.

[00:53:25] Anyway, in

[00:53:27] conclusion, please

[00:53:28] be careful of any

[00:53:29] spiritual ceremony

[00:53:31] or practice that

[00:53:32] demands vulnerability

[00:53:33] from you.

[00:53:34] Especially if it's

[00:53:35] being directed by

[00:53:36] certified people

[00:53:38] instead of medical

[00:53:39] professionals, who

[00:53:41] don't know much

[00:53:42] about you beyond

[00:53:43] your name.

[00:53:44] Annie, let's not

[00:53:46] under any

[00:53:46] circumstances ever

[00:53:48] meet again.

[00:54:06] Thanks for listening

[00:54:07] and stick around

[00:54:08] after the music if

[00:54:09] you're a patron for

[00:54:10] your extended version

[00:54:10] of this week's

[00:54:11] episode.

[00:54:12] If you want to

[00:54:13] get access to that

[00:54:13] bonus content, head

[00:54:14] over to patreon.com

[00:54:16] forward slash

[00:54:17] let's not meet

[00:54:18] podcast, where

[00:54:19] you'll get access to

[00:54:20] ad-free versions of

[00:54:21] all of our episode,

[00:54:22] and bonus content

[00:54:23] with stories you

[00:54:24] won't hear anywhere

[00:54:25] else every single

[00:54:26] week.

[00:54:27] Again, that's

[00:54:27] patreon.com forward

[00:54:29] slash let's not

[00:54:30] meet podcast.

[00:54:31] This week you have

[00:54:32] heard creepy

[00:54:32] FedEx driver by

[00:54:34] whisperwhite22, a

[00:54:36] man thought that I

[00:54:37] was alone on

[00:54:37] Padre Island by

[00:54:39] saucy Bev, the

[00:54:40] ride operators by

[00:54:42] cats against

[00:54:42] humanity, I got

[00:54:45] stalked for years by

[00:54:46] the boy I crushed

[00:54:47] on in school by

[00:54:48] rojo princess a, creepy

[00:54:51] man cornered me by

[00:54:52] deep recognition

[00:54:55] 679, man hid from

[00:54:57] the police with me by

[00:54:59] dog mama 21, was a

[00:55:01] child used to frame

[00:55:02] my mom by crazy

[00:55:04] confusion 3817, and

[00:55:06] finally, my new

[00:55:07] friend turned out to

[00:55:08] be recruiting for some

[00:55:09] kind of cult leader by

[00:55:11] harlequin.

[00:55:12] All of the stories

[00:55:13] you've heard this

[00:55:14] week were narrated and

[00:55:15] produced with the

[00:55:16] permission of their

[00:55:17] respective authors.

[00:55:18] Let's not meet a

[00:55:19] true horror podcast is

[00:55:20] not associated with

[00:55:21] Reddit or any other

[00:55:22] message boards online.

[00:55:24] If you have a story to

[00:55:25] share, send it to

[00:55:26] letsnotmeetstories at

[00:55:27] gmail.com and be sure

[00:55:29] to check out the new

[00:55:29] episodes of my other

[00:55:30] podcasts like odd

[00:55:32] trails, cryptic

[00:55:33] encounters, and the

[00:55:34] old time radio cast at

[00:55:35] cryptic county podcasts

[00:55:37] dot com or wherever you

[00:55:39] listen to your podcasts.

[00:55:40] We'll see you next

[00:55:41] week.

[00:55:41] Everyone stay safe.

[00:55:43] This happened in the

[00:56:11] mid-90s when my sister

[00:56:12] Stacy was over at her

[00:56:14] boyfriends.

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