This is more of a vent than anything but this happened last night and honestly I'm still pretty shaken up and mad over it.
I went out for a walk late last night (about 9:30-10pm) as I normally do when I have a lot on my mind. I was staying with a relative, they live in a decent-ish neighborhood and I have never experienced anything like this here before so it made it even more of a shock that this happened, plus I never go out within a five minute radius of the place of residence at this time of night for safety reasons.
I was walking around the area, was about ten minutes into the walk when I decided to sit on a bench for a breather. This car slowly drives by and approaches a parking space, but then exits it and just... stays right in front of me. I felt pretty uncomfortable and got up from the bench. Then the car started slowly following me.
I was practically shitting myself at that point and began walking faster, the car caught up with me and the driver rolled down the window and asked me if I was alright, saying I look lost, if I live in the area etc. I told him I was fine, that I live nearby. He asked me which house I lived in. I obviously refused to answer and just repeated that I lived nearby (again, a lie but I wasn't telling this creepy man anything about me). He told me that I was lying, that I don't live in the area, and I just repeated that I do and began to walk in the opposite direction. The car kept driving in the direction I was originally walking in and I thought that was it, but then he made a U-turn and continued to follow me.
After that I ran back to my relative's house and immediately locked the door behind. I don't think he saw which house I went into but I've been pretty shaken up since.
Why do creeps have to exist in the world.
That's sometimes called "the gift of fear" and it's an instinct that more often than not is accurate and protects you. Trust it.