Yahoo Lifestyle Women Are Sharing The Times Strangers Protected Them, And I'm Low-Key Starting To Believe The Strangers Were Time Travelers Sent Back To Save Them
Note: This post mentions domestic violence.
Recently, I asked the BuzzFeed Community to share times when a stranger stepped in to save them, and the responses overwhelmingly came from women. Here's what they said:
1."When I was 16, I was walking to work at the golf course where I worked as a waitress. It was on the main highway in a small rural town. A beat-up old car stopped, and the man inside rolled down the passenger window and started asking me for directions. I couldn’t hear him because of the traffic going by, so I walked closer to his car and put my hand on the car door. He grabbed my arm and tried pulling me in."
"This happened in front of my neighbor's house three doors down from mine. My neighbor came out swinging her broom and started screaming at the man, but he let go of me and drove off. Pretty sure she saved my life that day."
—Anonymous
2."When my husband and I started dating, a friend and I went to the bar and a music show right next door. My husband (boyfriend at the time) worked at the bar, and I knew all the employees, so I felt extremely safe. My friend and I had one drink at the bar...and we head down to the dance floor. This is where we turn to idiots. We put our drinks down on the sidebar by the dance floor. We started dancing and having a great time. My future sister and brother-in-law show up, I give them hugs, and then the next thing I remember is waking up vomiting next to my boyfriend."
"My sister-in-law filled in the blanks. After I gave them a hug, I went and drank some of my drink, then went back to the dance floor. When I came over next, I was super disoriented, but they just assumed I was drunk. I told her I needed air, so I walked outside. The next part is still fuzzy since she was inside, but she said a few minutes later, she heard yelling. She and my brother-in-law ran outside. Some concertgoers saw two guys trying to lead me away, and I kept saying, 'No, no, I need my boyfriend.' They kept saying it was OK and that we would bring you to him.
Well, a patron who had seen me around and knew who my boyfriend was knew something wasn’t right. He started yelling at them, and they finally left after some tense words. My sister-in-law called my husband. He took me home while I threw up all night. I went to the ER at about 6 the next morning, and they did a blood draw. I had indeed been roofied. Had that gentleman not stepped in, I’m afraid I know what would have happened. I always pay attention to my surroundings, but this was a major lapse. Never again. So thankful."
3."I was about 16. I was one of only two employees working at a giant book warehouse sale. I was up in the front by the register, and the other employee was in the back of the warehouse (far enough away that he wouldn't hear me even if I yelled back). A man came in to buy a few books from our outside racks and gave me a $20 bill, to which I gave him $17 back in change. He walked out but quickly came back inside, claiming he couldn't find his change. I suggested that maybe it was in his pocket, in the books, or that he had dropped it outside."
"He agreed, seemed to be normal and not upset, and said, 'You're probably right, thanks, and have a good day.' But as he walked outside, he began screaming out into the world stuff like, 'What the hell! Where the f is my money, that b*tch!' and I suddenly realized that he was not in his right mind.
He came back in a few times after that and essentially accused me of not giving him his money. I tried to stay calm, but I was alone, and he was getting clearly agitated and more aggressive. Another customer (let's call him Tom) had just left when this happened and gotten in his car and turned it on, but when the man came in the second time, Tom turned his car off, came inside, and stood by me and the front desk. He didn't say anything to the man who was yelling, but he just stood there with me until the man was intimidated enough to leave. When the scary guy left, I broke down crying and thanked Tom profusely for coming back inside. I will forever be grateful to him, as who knows what might have happened if he had just left and I was alone."
—Anonymous
4."When I was 18, I accidentally took a Greyhound bus to the wrong town. A creepy cab driver heard me on the phone telling my then-boyfriend I had to figure out how to get to where I was supposed to be this late at night with no money and no buses going that way until morning."
"When the cab driver offered to take me for free, the older gentleman who was the bus driver had overheard him and said that was the end of his route and he would take me, knowing a cab driver isn't going to lose money on a 'free' ride 45 minutes away. I think of how he could have saved my life that night."
—Anonymous
5."I had to stay overnight at an airport while traveling because the flight was late and the connecting flight was first thing in the morning. While navigating the airport, I noticed an older-looking man following me. At first, I thought he was another late-night arrival because all the passengers were funneled to a sectioned-off communal waiting area. I got up to use the restroom, and when I came back out, I saw that same old man standing across the corridor. We locked eyes from across the way, and he did those weird actions people do when you tell someone to look natural or act natural. I got a very bad feeling."
"I'm sure I looked distraught and uncomfortable because as I was walking back to the waiting area, these two huge young-looking dudes came over to greet me like we were long-time friends. I'm short at 5'2", and these guys were easily 6'5" or taller. One guy quietly told me about how they also noticed that old man watching and then following me.
When that old man saw me with these young dudes, that old man left the waiting area in a huff. I'm thankful and grateful for those two strangers."
—Anonymous
6."I was on a solo training run for an upcoming half marathon and was running in the downtown area of town. I was about a mile away from my car, and after finishing my run, I tripped over a pothole in the road and landed face-first on the pavement. I scratched and bruised both of my knees, my palms, my chin, and my nose, and broke my arm from the impact of my fall. I was in shock and crawled to the sidewalk, crying from pain."
"A kind stranger saw my fall as he was driving by, and pulled over. He ran to me with a bottle of water and napkins to wash out my scratches. He asked me how far I was from home and kindly offered to drive me where I needed to go.
I accepted his offer to take me to my car, one mile away, and while he was driving, I called my fiancé to come pick me up. Once we got to my car, the kind stranger waited the 10 minutes it took for my fiancé to arrive to make sure I was all right. I’ll never forget this man’s kindness, and plan to pay it forward someday when the moment presents itself."
—Anonymous
7."A year or two ago I went to a formal dance my boyfriend’s medical school had put on for their class. There was an open bar, and my boyfriend got way too drunk. Due to his drunken state he accidentally knocked me over on the dance floor. Trying not to make a huge scene, I got up and laughed it off, but I was very hurt and felt tears coming, so I quickly headed to the bathroom for privacy. My hip and thigh were purple, and glass from the beads on my dress were stuck in it. When I come out of the bathroom, my boyfriend is nowhere to be found."
"Eventually, I discovered he had gone home without me by accident. I get into what I thought was my Uber, annoyed and hurt but just relieved to be going home. My destination was a few miles south, my Uber heads north.
I try to point this out, he doesn’t listen. We’re 40-ish miles north now, and I’m very alarmed. The driver is not responding at all anymore, even when I ask him to just let me out of there. To make matters worse, my phone is dead. I mentally come to terms with the fact that I am in danger and I must escape this car. When he pulled off the highway and stopped at a light I jumped out of the car and ran. I had no idea where I was.
I see a 7-Eleven and go inside. The sweetest woman ever was working there and immediately recognized my distress. She charged my phone, gave me a chair, listened to me, and calmed me down until my phone came back alive and someone could come get me. I wish I knew her name; I think about her and her kindness a lot. I reported the Uber incident to the local authorities, but I’m not sure anything ever came of it."
—Anonymous
8."I was leaving my husband. We were on our way to divorcing. He asked me to dinner to talk. I said I would meet him there. I did not want to be a prisoner in his car. He was very controlling. The dinner started out civil but ended with us fighting, me walking out and to my car. He followed me, trying to stop me from getting into my car. He grabbed my keys and threw them across the crowded parking lot."
"He then left me there. I started to cry. It was so overwhelming. Until a car pulled up with an older couple that saw the whole thing. They had my keys!!! I cried harder but for joy. Angels. ❤️"
9."When I was young, broke, and going to school, I worked two jobs and often got home from my bartending job late at night. My neighbor Erik was a mechanic and worked the late shift. Our apartment complex was rough and not the safest, and the parking was really far from the apartments."
"Erik knew what time I got off work, so he used to text me when he was leaving his job, and if he got home before me, he waited by the parking spots until I got there, and we'd walk inside together. I'm sure he was tired after work, just like I was, but he waited for me since I mentioned once that it made me nervous to walk from my car to my front door at night in that dark apartment complex.
He was a terrible cook and lived mostly on microwave meals, so whenever I cooked dinner, I'd try to make an extra plate and take it over to him as a thank you. I graduated, got into law school, and moved out of that apartment complex, but I still remember and appreciate him for looking out for me."
10."A few years ago, two girls in a bathroom at a bar saved another girl's life. I was at an extremely busy pub when I needed to use the bathroom. I was in a stall when I overheard two girls talking and one said, 'I think that girl in there might be dead.' I came out of the stall to wash my hands and asked them what was going on. They said a girl in one of the stalls had been there for close to an hour (you could see through the cracks of the door). One of the girls knocked and yelled loudly to ask if the girl in the stall was OK. No answer. So, she then crawled under the door and unlocked/opened it. The girl in the stall was sitting, fully clothed on the toilet with her head and neck leaning against the wall in a very awkward position and was totally out of it."
"I'm not a medical professional but a certified first responder, so I told the girls to go call 911 while I tried my best to help the girl in the stall. It felt like a century before the paramedics finally got there and took her to the hospital.
The supervisor had come to ask me and the other two girls some questions and told us that the girl we'd helped had a diabetic seizure and was very close to slipping into a diabetic coma. If those two girls hadn't been paying attention and been smart enough to say/do something, the girl in the stall could have easily died."
11."I was 16 and at a Snoop Dogg concert when I got separated from my boyfriend, so I ended up standing on my own, very scared, in a crowd of people who were extremely drunk."
"A big security guy touched my elbow and asked if I was OK and to go with him. I thought he was leading me to the exit when he brought me to the cornered-off, practically empty VIP area right in front of the stage. Snoop waved down and gave me a thumbs up."
—Anonymous
12."Once, I was putting my groceries in my trunk in a supermarket parking lot. A man approached and started a conversation after I said I didn’t have spare change. Unfortunately, he was in front of me, toward the driver's side of the car."
"Just as I was trying to figure out how to exit the conversation and get away from him without walking between cars (making me harder to see), a woman was strolling by with her cart and said, 'Are you ready to go, sis? We don’t want to be late!' With that, I said 'yeah,' and 'excuse me' to the man…and he quickly stepped aside. I don’t think he meant any harm, but she sensed my discomfort and the fact that he was blocking me, so her observation skills and quick thinking helped me exit the situation."
—Anonymous
13."I went to a banquet for my husband’s work when I was heavily pregnant. I was a little disappointed to find that most of the hors d'oeuvres were either rare beef, raw seafood, or too spicy for my terrible pregnancy heartburn."
"A waitress noticed that I was having trouble finding anything to eat, so she went back to the kitchen and made up a little plate of pregnancy-friendly appetizers for me. It was such a pleasant surprise for a stranger to have my back for such a small thing."
14."I had an experience where I felt angels were looking out for me! I was driving home (a four-hour mountain trip) from seeing my brother who was dying of cancer. I was distracted with worry. I stopped at a rest stop for a break."
"A woman was finishing washing her hands in the bathroom. She told me, 'Honey, my husband and I noticed you were alone, and we wanted to watch over you 'til you got safely into your car. There is a strange man here with a camper in the parking lot...we were concerned for your safety.' Now, I am watchful for myself and others. I will always think of the kindness of this couple. I say a special prayer of gratitude for them every time I pass a rest stop."
15."I'll never forget being 13 in a mosh pit in the late '90s and someone crowd surfing landed on top of me, knocking me to the ground. I remember seeing nothing but feet and trying to get up but feeling resistance."
"Suddenly, someone grabbed my arm and pulled me up. It was some college-age guy. He got in my face and asked if I was OK. I said I was, and he got back to enjoying the concert. It wasn't life-threatening, but other people have died under similar circumstances. I'm grateful for that guy."
16."My husband and I were waiting for a train when we were in Paris and noticed a man hovering near a young woman sitting on a bench alone. The platform was otherwise empty. The man followed the young woman onto the train and began to approach her."
"I told my husband that I felt uncomfortable, so we followed them and sat near her. My husband gave the man a look, and he turned and walked to the other end of the train. I hate to think about what might have happened."
—Anonymous
17."When I was in my early 20s, I went downtown for a fun night (drinking) with friends, but ended up getting separated from them and left alone in a downtown parking lot. I was completely and utterly incoherent — unable to find my phone or any of my belongings and had no idea where I was. Completely vulnerable."
"A gentleman approached me asking if I was OK. I was scared to answer him because I thought the absolute worst. He said, 'Ma’am where are your friends, why are you alone, do you need help?' I finally replied and told him that my friends had left me and I needed to get home.
He insisted that he give me a ride home and that he’d keep me safe. I was so, so scared to accept, but at the time, I thought it was my only option. On our way to my house, I remember begging him, 'Please, please don’t hurt me' and 'I just want to go home' over and over again. He replied, 'I’m not going to hurt you, I just want to take you home, OK.'
This was the 25 most scariest minutes of my life. Yet, he plugged my address into his GPS, and soon enough, I was outside my house. Before I got out of the car, he told me, 'This world is an ugly place for a woman. I understand why you are scared. I hope that you find better friends.'
I’ve never told anyone this story because I’m ashamed of how irresponsible I was, but I think of it often because I’m convinced that I met an angel that night."
—Anonymous
18."I ran out of gas on the way home from work as it was just getting dark and cellphones were still rare. I was figuring out what to do when a van pulled up. The driver came over to my driver's side and asked if I needed help. Cracked the window and said, 'My husband’s on his way' as the guy gave off major creep vibes. He walked away but reappeared at my passenger door, pulling on the door handle."
"Thankfully, my door was locked. At that moment, another car saw him, realized something wasn’t right, and pulled over. He got back in his van and left. The two strangers let me use their phone and stayed until my husband arrived. I never got to thank them, but I am forever grateful that they cared enough to stop."
—Anonymous
19."As a survivor of domestic abuse, I know how important it is to step in when such a situation occurs. One time I was in the living room of my apartment, and I heard a loud noise and screaming outside my window. I thought it may have been a kid who fell and hurt themselves, so I went outside to check. I saw my male neighbor forcefully pulling his girlfriend in their home and she was trying to run and get away."
"Out of instinct, I yelled, 'Stop! You’re going to go to jail!' Immediately, he looked at me and let her go for a second but then pulled her back into their home. I immediately called the police and told them what happened and that they needed to get here quickly. They arrived, and he was arrested. She was able to leave that night, but I never saw her again. Later on, I found out she had moved out of state, and they had broken up. I thank God she was able to get away from her abuser, and I pray that she is doing OK."
—Anonymous
20."I was in my early 20s and on my way home after a night out. I was tipsy but aware of my surroundings, so when a group of drunk men started yelling at me from their seats, I was instantly on high alert. I thought ignoring it would be best, and hey, this was a public place surrounded by people, so they wouldn’t do anything, right? They did."
"It started with ruffling my hair and then screaming in my face when I started to move away. Not one person in that crowded area helped me, even when they started to follow me. I made the mistake of moving to an empty train, and they blocked the door, so I couldn’t get away. Then one of them flashed his knife at me. I thought this was how it was going to end. Then I heard, 'You lads better LEAVE HER ALONE.' It was a homeless guy. He got in between us and just screamed at them until they slunk off. I was on the verge of a panic attack, and he sat with me the whole way home. Thanks Dorrace, I hope you’re well and happy, wherever you are. I will never forget you."
—Anonymous
21.And finally, "Myself and another woman were the strangers. I’m a commuter on Amtrak, and I noticed a guy paying a lot of attention to a college-age girl; the man was probably in his 30s. They didn’t appear to know each other. I lowered the volume of my podcast and listened to their conversation (unbeknownst to me, this other woman had done the same thing). We both heard two important things 1) she said she was traveling alone to see a friend and 2) he wasn’t going there but decided he would change his ticket."
"She was young and friendly but looked uncomfortable with this. He got up to change his ticket, and this other woman and I immediately got up and took seats on either side of her. Turns out we were actually all going to the same place on the same train. We asked her if she knew the man, if she wanted him to travel with her, etc. She indeed did not. So when he came back and saw us, I think he got the idea and left her alone."
—Anonymous
If you're a woman who found yourself in a difficult situation when kind strangers stepped in to help, we want to hear about it. Share your story in the comments below, or if you'd like to remain anonymous, use this Google form.
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger as a result of domestic violence, call 911. For anonymous, confidential help, you can call the 24/7 National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or chat with an advocate via the website.
