General

Frightening Transit Encounter

I was on my way home from my girlfriend's house just now, around 10:30 PM. I sat towards the rear reading my book. A little after I got on, a man got on and sat down kitty corner to me, facing my direction. He asked me how I was and we started small talk. From the way he moved his neck around as if it were a ball trembling on the end of a broken down body, I could tell he just took a substance, one that is primarily railed. To reassure my suspicions I held eye contact him with throughout our small talk and watched his pupils continue to dilate to the point where I couldn't determine his eye colour. He held up no shield and immediately began telling me of all the troubles currently occurring, focusing on his marriage. A few days ago he walked in on his wife and his best friend, in his own bed. His best friend of 10 years was everything that held him together; his crutch. Almost in tears, he began to lecture me on the importance of friendship. I couldn't really piece again his slurs so I nodded and acted how he would want me to act; sympathetic. What I did get out of it is that friendship is not something that could be thrown away like that, so whatever he had with his "best friend" was not stemming from friendship. He moved onto his son of 22 years. He told me that he planned to have a son young so they could grow up together. I pressed the stop button a few stops before mine because I was a bit uneasy with the context. He asked me where a certain street was and I mapped out the directions with my hands. I got up to get off and he asked me to show him exactly where. We walked a bit up the street together as he failed to hold a steady pace and straight line. I pointed towards the bus stop across the street saying that's where the bus comes. He asked for a few bucks, but I didn't have any, and even if I did, I wouldn't hand it over -- he was just on the bus, for one. He reached out to shake me hand, and as our grasps both tightened, he assured me that I was a good kid. He assumed I was in my early twenties. I never gave him any of my personal information, purposely avoiding the subject of age. We made very strong eye contact for the last 5 seconds of the handshake and he told me, "You have no idea who you just spoke with." A bit caught of guard, I paused for a few seconds. As he was crossing the street I asked him what his name was. He stood for a second, staring at his feet as if tired of having to tie his untied shoes. As he began to walk again, before his foot touched ground he turned his head and said, "You'll find out eventually." I yelled have a good night and turned around to head home.

I thought of this as a typical bus encounter with somebody who doesn't really have all the pieces together in their life and their brain. I was somewhat laughing about it, but was easily frightened and curious from the last two things he said. I was thinking he was maybe an ex-famous person, or some sort of media-related man. When I got home I called my girlfriend to tell her, somewhat laughing through the conversation. She fell silent right when I ended and said some inappropriate -- for this site -- words. Right after she said, "He's going to kill either his "best friend" or wife, and his picture and name are going to be all over the media. That's how you're going to learn his name." I thought she was joking up until she told me to call the non-emergency number. She's taking some psychology courses, and everything she told me was lining up. Whenever he spoke of his wife, he got very loud and aggressive. With his son, he seemed genuine and sad, almost in tears.

I'm going to talk to some people tomorrow for insight on what to do, but I'm wondering if you guys have any insightful words. I am truly scared right now, a little bit traumatized, and very curious. I could have been the one to stop a murder should I have taken the advice provided. I don't know what the police would do, but they definitely could use my information after it happened. I know nothing of this man so they would most likely dismiss the whole thing.