[Music] [Music] it was the start of my second semester in 2016 I had a few new classes but not many in my first class I met had a kid named Ben I had never seen him before but he looked very friendly during class Ben came over and asked if he could have my phone number he said he wanted to keep in touch and maybe talk about our schoolwork I thought he was nice so I gave him my number without worrying too much about it after that day Ben and I started texting each other every day we sent simple messages about our classes homework work and our interest in the hallways and during class we talked about almost everything by the second week he stopped talking to me as much he only asked if I was okay and waved at me in the hallways which I didn't think was a big deal in the third week he just smiled and said hello sometimes but in the fourth week things felt strange Ben started following me everywhere at school no no matter where I went he was there whenever I went to the bathroom Ben would wait right outside the door and when I came out he would follow me silently he never said a word and his eyes always looked empty and unfocused which made me feel very uneasy it was already February and despite the time passing Ben continued to follow me all day long I began to feel like I was never alone at school I tried many things to make him stop I changed the hallways I walked in taking different routes between classes I even altered my class schedule to avoid running into him as much but nothing worked Ben was always there watching me with that Blank Stare I grew both scared and irritated by his behavior then on Valentine's Day Ben gave me a stuffed elephant and he didn't say a word like he usually did I said thank you but he stayed silent later that night I received a text message from him when I opened it my heart pounded with fear the message only contained the address of my house I felt both angry and terrified I couldn't sleep at all that night so I decided that in the morning I would talk to my school counselor about it I will never forget the image of his eyes with that blank stare burned into my mind I felt foolish for waiting so long to talk to someone about what was happening even though Ben had never actually hurt me I kept thinking I could handle it on my own but the fear kept building up inside me after a long sleepless night filled with worry I decided to ask if I could come to school early the next morning I needed to face the situation and get help when I arrived at school I went straight to my counselor's office and I told her everything that had been going on with Ben I explained how he had been following me around and how the text with my home address had made me feel unsafe I even showed her the text message on my phone so she could see exactly what had been sent my counselor listened carefully and took notes reassuring me that I had done the right thing by speaking up when I left the counselor's office office I felt a wave of dread Ben was in my first class and I was very scared to go in that first period Ben was taken to the counselor's office when I realized he was gone I felt relieved and was able to pay attention in class for the rest of the day I noticed that Ben wasn't following me anywhere I didn't see him at all that first class was the last time I ever saw Ben he never came came back to school and no one even mentioned him it was as if Ben had never existed I was happy he was gone and I no longer had to worry about the situation getting worse I still keep the stuffed elephant he gave me it sits in the corner of my room where it doesn't get much attention I often wonder if I should get rid of it or just leave it there [Music] earlier today I was scrolling through Instagram and saw an ad for a memorial locket it reminded me that I wanted one a year ago to keep some of my boyfriend's hair a bit of backstory so I was dating an amazing man whom I met in August 2022 he was a bit wild he loved riding his motorcycle but he also had a kind heart we dated for months until one day a drunk driver hit him while he was riding his bike he was on his way to pick me up for a date he didn't die but he was in a coma for 3 weeks I spent three long weeks by his side holding hand as he lay in the hospital bed and every day I stayed with him hoping for even a small sign of improvement unfortunately his condition worsened and he eventually passed away from complications during his treatment his passing happened just before we were going to celebrate our first Valentine's Day together which made the loss even more painful losing him was incredibly hard for me I had always believed in the Paranormal and felt sure that if he were watching over me he would send a sign when nothing happened I began to doubt my beliefs about the afterlife and the supernatural then last March an outof Town friend visited a mutual friend and ended up borrowing my car my friend and I switched vehicles she rides a motorcycle I hadn't been able to ride since the accident and had even sold my own bike this forced me to ride again then one evening I was riding home listening to music through my helmet as I was finally feeling at ease on a bike again I saw him in my mind's eye on a bluff above me a place I knew he loved he spent many hours up on that spot looking out at the valley below and the ocean far away I remember how he used to stand there as I was riding past I saw him waving at me from his favorite Bluff and I even heard him call out my name my heart raced but I also felt a deep sense of calm I managed to get home safely though I was still overwhelmed once I got inside died I collapsed into my living room with my dogs around me and half of my riding gear still on I even laughed a little at how strange and real that experience felt later that day while I was browsing on my phone I came across an ad for a memorial locket it hit me that I still haven't bought one to keep a piece of his memory close I smiled sadly and thought I should get that just before dinner I turned on my TV to watch something from an internet streaming Channel I don't have cable because my landlord is cheap so my TV only shows a feed from my streaming apps and I switched on my TV and saw my late boyfriend's favorite internet News website at first I was confused and asked my current boyfriend if he had set it up he shook his head and asked what is that I turned pale sat down suddenly and started to cry this website isn't easy to find and as far as I know we never watched it at my place only at his I'm pretty sure you even need a login so I have no idea how it showed up on my TV my current boyfriend noticed my reaction and hurried over worried he wrapped his arms around me and gently asked what was wrong I could barely speak but I managed to whisper my late boyfriend's name tears welled up in my eyes as I struggled to process what was happening instead of brushing it off or trying to explain it away my current boyfriend just held me close he softly reassured me saying he's saying hi to you then without hesitation he turned to the TV and said out loud hi Gary I turned off the TV and let out a shaky laugh repeating the same words then I realized that this weekend would have been the third anniversary of our first date I don't know why it took him so long to send a sign but I have a lot of emotions about it [Music] now when I was 17 and in my last year of school I had to ride a bus every day to go to school in the city every morning at the bus station I noticed the bus drive driver he always had a kind smile and I secretly thought he was cute then one day I got on the bus as I usually did the bus was very full and I managed to find a seat near the middle then the bus driver got on the bus too instead of sitting at the front like he usually did he chose a seat next to me he looked at me and said something nice about my bag complimenting it in a friendly way I felt confused because it was not common for a bus driver to say something like that especially to a student after complimenting my bag he introduced himself we talked for a few moments about random things like the chilly weather and our daily routines then he got off the bus and that was the end of our meeting a few months later my school held a yearly event every year older students must dress up and raise money for charity however we all had to get to school by 6:45 a. m. so that we could pick up all the commuters and still be in class by 8:30 a.
m. after the fundraiser I had to catch the bus at about 6:00 a. m.
to be on time for school that day I was dressed as a 1920s flapper because my group was doing a Bugsy Malone theme I got on the bus as usual and saw the cute bus driver I didn't think much of it at first after I sat sat down the bus stopped at the next stop the driver got off his seat and came over to sit next to me even though no one else was on the bus he started talking about how he used to be goth and said I looked really nice then he began talking about random things again like what kind of music I liked and after I told him he said I knew we would have so many things in common around 6:20 a. m. I began to worry that I I wouldn't make it to school on time I started to feel uneasy and became even quieter barely responding to anything soon the bus driver got up from his seat and started driving the bus again but I could clearly see him in the side mirror next to the driver's Booth he kept glancing at me the entire time after that weird encounter I began to see him everywhere every morning on my way to school I would pass by the same row of benches these benches were usually crowded with homeless men who sat there all day talking quietly among themselves as I walked past I couldn't help but notice that the bus driver was sometimes there too or I felt like I saw his face in the crowd then one day I was walking past the benches and there he was standing among the homeless men so now I would see him when I walked to school and when I went to the bus station I also saw him while he was driving the bus but what made things even worse was that his homeless friends were everywhere they would stop and stare at me all because I was kind to this bus driver and that wasn't even the end of the story I was waiting at the bus station talking with my friend when the bus driver came over to say hello we exchanged a few friendly words but I had to leave quickly because my bus had arrived I left him talking with my friend when I got home my friend sent me a message on Facebook she told me that the bus driver had asked for my phone number and that she had given it to him after that he began texting me constantly at first I replied politely because I didn't want to be rude however as time went on his messages started to feel creepy and uneasy I also had a lot of schoolwork to do so I slowly stopped replying to him hoping that he would eventually stop texting for about 2 months he messaged me every day without stopping then he began sending me pictures they were not explicit pictures or anything like that instead he sent photos of his house showing all the different rooms his car and even his bike and with each picture he included messages such as I have my own house and car he also sent a picture of his bike with a note saying I like to ride my bike to work because it's healthier later on he even told me where he lived and it turned out his home was on the other side of town when he first talked to me he had no reason to be in my neighborhood But as time passed that changed around Valentine's Day I started finding small gifts in my letter box every day for 2 weeks like teddy bears chocolates and other small presents at first I didn't know who was leaving them but then I noticed the way he smirked at me whenever I saw him that look on his face made me feel certain it was him what made it even worse was that my house was easy to spot from the bus stop every day when I got off the bus it was right there in plain sight that meant he had been paying attention and knew exactly where I lived after that I did everything I could to avoid him whenever I saw him I made sure to stay far away it seemed like he had switched to a different bus route which was a relief about a year later I moved to a new place but whenever I visit my mom I still see his homeless friends around the city they still stop and stare at me just like before and it always gives me an uneasy [Music] feeling about 8 months ago I went on vacation with my family and a friend in Conan Texas we rented a nice Airbnb house for a week the house had a big backyard with full of trees and bushes which made it perfect for playing hideand-seek so my friend and I liked to play hide and seek there because there were many good hiding spots and for 2 days my whole family me and him go out to have fun together we spend time fishing by the water and Hiking through the woods on the third day we come back to the house around 6:00 or 7:00 p.
m. by then the sun is starting to go down and the sky turns orange and pink since it's getting dark we decide to play hide and seek in the woods behind the house now at the back of the house there's a door that leads to a small patio the patio has a roof and walls with screen Windows so it feels like a tiny room and when you step out of that little room you see the backyard if you turn left you'll see the forest in the far left corner of the yard there's a path that goes into the woods that's where we would go to play there's also a small shed on the left side of the house right next to the trees by now it was around 8:00 p. m.
