A California woman details an alleged scary encounter after she’s charmed by a stranger she met alone in a bookstore. She’s so excited to meet someone that she completely overlooks every red flag and ends up alone with him in a windowless concrete room. She describes the encounter as a failure of her preservation skills, claiming, “I have the self-preservation of a napkin.”
She sees an event hosted by Melody Eshani as a chance to make friends. When she arrives early, she enters a bookstore where she meets a stranger. She refers to him as Polka Dot Culottes. Her first mistake is telling this man that she is new in town. The next is when she finds him waiting for her after her event. Unfortunately, her excitement to meet new people clouds the little voice telling her to run. The California woman is “excited to see [her] friend” and accepts an invitation to get a drink. Red flag number three: when she heads to the bars, he heads the other direction to “the liquor store.” It still doesn’t register to her that she’s alone.
When she returns to the bookstore with him, he takes her downstairs to a “cavernous concrete room.” The type of room where no sound can be heard. When the lights come on, she notices a peculiar feature: “a slave mural is on the ceiling.” The California woman describes it as men with guns and covered wagons. Then he asks to show her the attic. After going upstairs and taking a ladder, Polka Dot Culottes says, “I’ve always wanted to shoot somebody here. Ever pose nude?” He plans to do this with his iPhone, something she quickly rejects.
California Woman Has People Stressed
When they return to the windowless room downstairs, it takes an even creepier turn. The stranger asks, “Do you live your life in the light or do you live it in the dark?” This is officially when the bad vibes go off the charts. The California woman describes his welcoming eyes as no longer looking vibrant but “darker than [she’s] ever seen.” Then the stranger shares how sometimes the darkness consumes him. This is when she makes an escape plan and calls for an Uber. She explains that at “this point, I’m still trying to preserve this man’s feelings in case he’s not a murderer.” Thankfully, she makes it out unscathed. The moral of the story is, don’t talk to strangers and be vigilant.
Many in the comments are stressed at how she missed so many red flags. One found themselves “yelling at [their] phone, Kimber Gurl, you in danger.” Another says, “I love your energy, but survival skills of a potato.” One points out, “Your guardian angel is tired!” Another makes a unique comparison, “You know that part in Finding Nemo when Dory meets Bruce.” Another says they “can hear the 60 minutes intro now.”
One points out the warning signs everywhere, “Forget the saxophone, I’m hearing the whole orchestra.” One has realized their mother was right, “These are the kind of stories my mother was concerned about when I went off to college.” Another has a piece of advice, “This stressed me out so bad…please stop talking to strangers.” One commenter suggests, “watch some ID channel for homework this weekend.” Let’s hope she listens.
