People 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
In the past, BuzzFeed spoke to Samantha MacIntyre, a marathon runner who was training when she noticed a car following slowly nearby. Luckily, a family living along her trail offered her a safe place to wait and call the police within their gate.
This story has stuck to me, and inspired me to ask the BuzzFeed Community to share times when a stranger stepped in to help when they needed it most. Here's what they said:
1."When I was 7 years old, my mother and I were at an airport in Mexico. My mother was distracted due to grief because we were returning from a funeral, my aunt had died. A woman approached us and asked my mom if she could take me to the bathroom because she was scared to go alone. My mom said 'yes.' I remember the woman being beautiful so I went along. She had long red acrylic nails…but was gripping my wrist tightly."
"We walked passed the bathrooms and were about to enter an elevator. A man watched this interaction and alerted my mother. 'Lady do you know her? She’s taking your daughter!' And they intervened right on time. The lady acted confused and hurried away. I most likely would’ve been a victim of human trafficking."
—Anonymous
2."I was in a coffee shop minding my own business and reading my book. Enter a dude who sat at my table and proceeded to try and make conversation with me. I told him I was fine, thank you. Kept trying. I got up to move and he followed me to that table. I told him to leave me alone, moved again, and he FOLLOWED ME."
"Out of nowhere, I got hugged by a total stranger and she whispered, 'I got you, just follow my lead' and screamed 'JESSIE, there you are, I was looking for you! How's it going, girl? You want to sit over there?' and just dragged me away from the weirdo who looked perplexed, but had thankfully given up and left. She sat with me for a bit to make sure I was ok and that dude had indeed taken off. I have made a mental note to always pay attention in public now because of her, in case this is needed for another woman. ALWAYS."
3."The summer before 4th grade on the 4th of July. My brother and I were riding our bikes at the park, which had big hills. While riding downhill I lost control and flipped over the handlebars of my bike. I split my chin open. There was a family there having a picnic and they had a first aid kit. They bandaged me up and took care of me while my brother went home to get my dad. I ended up getting stitches."
4."I was walking around the grocery section in Walmart around 9 p.m. one evening. I was hungry, so I was rushing to finish my shopping. A lady approached me and told me that a man had been following me for several minutes across three different aisles."
"She stayed with me and acted as if we were together as I finished shopping and cashed out. She walked to my car with me. The man followed closely behind and stood against a car in the parking lot watching us. We both got in our vehicles and left at the same time. I don't know what he had planned but that lady was an angel."
—Anonymous
5."I was leaving my ex and, in the process of getting my things, he was getting more and more volatile and angry. At one point, he was getting in my face and yelling threats. Right before I was preparing for him to make a move, a neighbor yelled at him and asked me if she needed to call the cops."
"He backed off and the cops did show up (along with a friend whom I called earlier) after I drove off a few blocks down to wait for them. Shout out to that neighbor lady, hope she's having a blessed life."
6."I was eight months pregnant and I had gone three times to the hospital for trouble breathing, which I thought was due to asthma and allergies. Every time before this one I had been told that I was just a nervous new mother with a history of anxiety, and not to worry about it. After being practically dismissed in the waiting room at the hospital where I was supposed to deliver, there was a mom and her little boy that I was playing with to keep him distracted while they waited. We were making pleasant conversation, when suddenly, the mother told me that I didn’t look right and despite having waited longer, she and several other patrons in the waiting room began begging the nurses to take me in because they all felt I was in danger."
"After being told to let the staff do their job and basically sit down and shut up, the mother approached me and my partner, and told us to leave and go to Boston to an emergency room there right away. We listened, and, as it turned out, I was in heart failure, which was causing fluid to build up in my chest and suffocating me and my son. They told me when I got there if I had arrived even 30 minutes later, no intervention efforts would have saved either of us. The damage to my heart was so bad I was hospitalized for 4 weeks and my son was delivered 4 lbs 3 Oz, 8 weeks early. He was in the NICU for two weeks and PICU for two weeks before they released us both just before Christmas. Not only did those people in the waiting room save my life – especially that wonderful woman – but the doctor who delivered my son came in on her vacation week to operate because they knew she was my only shot at survival. They told my partner and family one of us would more than likely die in the process, our odds were VERY low. That doctor came in at 8 a.m. on a Monday morning, on her own time, and stayed and checked on me and did my postpartum care for the rest of the week. Strangers saved me and my son’s lives."
7."I was 14 or 15. It was dark out and summertime in early '90s. One of my friends had walked me halfway home. My mom was a 911 dispatcher in the city I lived in, worked 3rd shift, and was also a single parent, so I was going home to a dark empty house. I had about five or six blocks to go by myself. As I was walking I noticed a guy in a car following me. This went on for a couple of blocks. I was scared and didn't know what to do. It was a time of no cell phones."
"On the next block I saw some pay phones and stopped and acted like I was calling someone. The man pulled over and stopped his car. I was terrified cause I didn't know what I was going to do. Out of nowhere this tiny woman with a knife came up to me just as the guy was crossing the street. She asked me if he was following me, I told her yes. She asked me where I lived and I told her a couple blocks away. So she walked me home. The guy sped off. We didn't see him the rest of the way home."
8."I had a heat stroke while riding my bike home from work. I live in a suburban area and made it to a playground/field area before vomiting on myself and passing out for a couple minutes. There weren't any people around and the local traffic was pretty light for that time of day. I came to and was so weak I couldn't really flag down anyone for help (also didn't have a working cell phone). A couple of people slowed down to gawk but no one was stopping."
"One lady who had just started her daily walk around the park found me and was so kind. I explained my situation and that I couldn't make it the four blocks I had left and that I was concerned about my bike because it was my only mode of transportation. She walked to her house and came back with her SUV and some water. She put my Schwinn in her car and drove me home. Don't know what would have happened if she hadn't stopped and I passed out again. While she was helping me we found out that I played with her granddaughter as a kid! Small world, sweet lady."
—Anonymous
9."I was sharing a room with another woman after having spinal surgery. She had her own nurse and I had mine. Hers was a male, and even in my groggy painful state I could tell he was creeping on her. Kept asking her in low tones if she lives alone, if she likes men, if she HAS a man etc. He didn’t ask just once, he made it a point to keep on her in these low creepy sing-song questions. It was making ME deeply uncomfortable as we were separated by curtains and I could not see him, just hear."
"She was in a confused state but I could tell she did not want to answer him. After the fourth or fifth time he checked on her and asked AGAIN if she truly lives alone, I snapped. The room door was propped open so I hollered loud as I could, 'NOT APPROPRIATE SIR! YOU ARE SEXUALLY HARASSING THIS WOMAN!' Zero f*cks. Reported him to my nurse. We never saw him again. I’ve been a construction worker for 20 years I know a creeper when I see one."
—Anonymous
10."Three months after moving to LA I was walking across Sunset to my apartment, when an angry man started following me. I tried to ignore him, but he started yelling at me and throwing bottles, cans, and rocks at me. I remember at one point he said, 'Run bitch, it will be more fun that way.'"
"Two random men smoking on the other side of the street saved me. One ran after the man yelling at him to leave me alone and saying that he was going to beat his ass if he touched me, and the other wrapped his jacket around me and walked me into the nearby donut shop until the man was gone. They both then walked me to my apartment and made sure my door was locked and I had waved at them from my window before they went back to their night. Wherever they are, I hope they are happy!"
11."Back in the '90s, on a total whim, a mate and I decided to visit another friend who lived ‘Up North’. My parents had no idea and probably wouldn’t have let me go... On the way, the car broke down twice. The second time, it was pretty serious with oil spraying the windscreen and smoke pouring out from under the bonnet."
"The only place we could find was a pub, so we pushed the car into their car park and then I rang my dad from the pub’s pay phone, and his response was ‘So?’ before hanging up... Well, the landlady of the pub overheard my conversation and offered their caravan for us to sleep in for the night. Then in the morning, they gave us a full English breakfast whilst their son fixed car. They wouldn’t take a penny off us and we ended up getting on so well that they wanted us to stay for the next night."
12."I was out at a bar with some friends who had gone to get another drink when this man came up to me with his friends and backed me into a corner. He was going on about his new car and how I just had to see it and how amazing he was, etc. I was visibly uncomfortable as I tried to eye a way out. He was trying to get me to go see his new car, and wasn’t taking no for an answer."
"This older gentleman came out on the porch where it was happening and he just said, ‘Son, if you want to walk out of here I suggest you do it now, that’s my daughter.’ There was an awkward standoff and the older man got the guy kicked out of the bar. The man then asked me if I was okay and said, ‘You remind me of my daughter and I would want someone to step in for her if she was ever in that situation.'"
13."I left school early because I was sick with a cold. It freezing outside. I was locked out of the house somehow. Something told me to knock on my neighbor's door. I did. She let me sleep on her couch until my parents came back. Her house was so warm, clean, and she was making some kind of roast. She offered me food as well but I didn't have an appetite. Ever since that day I always say hi to their family."
—Anonymous
14."My boyfriend at the time and I were visiting Disney World and we went to one of the hotels for lunch. As soon as we got to the property we got into an argument. I wanted to put it to bed and enjoy the day but he kept pushing and pushing and getting louder and louder. I actually walked away from him because I didn’t want to cause a scene. He followed me to the front of the resort and was loudly yelling, crying, stomping his feet and acting like a large toddler. His behavior actually scared me a little."
"A woman and her husband saw us. She immediately came to my side and her husband stood in between us. She asked me if I was ok and told my boyfriend to leave. Her husband said, 'You're not getting past me so go cool off somewhere.' My boyfriend and I broke up after that trip but I’m so thankful that this couple cared about my safety."
—Anonymous
15."I worked at a fast food breakfast and coffee chain in my teens, and since I was the only one who ever cleaned the place thoroughly, I closed the store almost every night (laws were not as strict then as they are now about working late). I should add that I was barely 100 pounds soaking wet, so a strong breeze could have knocked me over, and as a girl I was targeted by a lot of male customers. After one particularly harrowing incident with a customer, while working by myself at night without a soul in sight, a security guard posted in the breezeway of the building started showing up in the evenings."
"He always stood outside while I cleaned up, and would wait for my mom to pick me up before he went back to his regular post. He even offered me his coat on several occasions when it got cold. That man didn't have to do any of those things, but I understood he was looking out for me and truly appreciated knowing someone was nearby after nearly being assaulted."
—Anonymous
16."I was staying in a hotel in London alone; my first solo trip. I got horribly sick, puking everywhere, super dizzy and too weak to get medicine. A random manager who dropped by earlier called to check if we needed anything. When I told him my state he ran out to get me fresh fruits, medicine and electrolytes, and he checked on me every few hours for the next three days. Didn't charge me a thing and was never inappropriate. I will forever be grateful to his kindness."
—Anonymous
17."I was actually the person who stepped in. I was on a cruise with my husband and our friends and we went to one of the bars. I overheard a man in his 50’s telling some other random guy he wanted to roofie the drink of a 20-something girl across the room. He went on to say other crass things about the girl and her friend, so I immediately got up and told my group I was going to the bathroom."
"Instead I made my way to the girl and her friend and greeted them as if we’ve known each other for years. I very quickly informed her what I heard, and at that moment a waiter came over with a drink 'on the house' that she didn’t order. She and her friend immediately asked for a manager, and I relayed everything to that person and security. It was very discreetly handled, and she couldn’t stop thanking me. I was doing what I hoped any woman would do for another woman."
—Anonymous
18."I was at Denver International Airport when I heard a familiar voice that sounded like my former abuser. Took a quick peek and confirmed that it was indeed him. I had a complete breakdown. I went into panic mode. I grabbed my things and booked it to the bathroom where I had an anxiety attack so bad I threw up in the toilet. A woman knocked on my door to ask if I was alright. It was an employee at a store in the airport."
"She told me to stay where I was and she came back with anti-nausea medication and a Sprite for me. She gave me her name and the store she worked at and she told me to come down and see her if any trouble started and she’d notify TSA immediately. I can’t remember her name, but I will never forget her kindness. I still think about her. It was the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me."
—Anonymous
19."I visited Chicago a few years ago for a work conference. As I was walking through the park to go see Cloud Gate, aka 'The Bean,' a man stopped me and blocked my path, telling me that I had to tell him 'filthy' things in order for him to move. I was stunned and stood there like a deer in headlights."
"Out of nowhere, a woman came, put her arm through mine, and said, 'Oh, there you are! I've been looking for you.' She grabbed me and pushed her way through the man. I was still in shock and didn't fully process what had just happened. She asked if I was okay and if I needed her to stay with me or call someone. I said I was OK, and she dropped me off in front of The Bean. I didn't get her name, and I couldn't mutter more than a thank you. However, I think about her all the time and am still grateful she intervened."
—Anonymous
20."My mom sent me with an envelope of money to pay my babysitter. Older kids stopped me, ready to jump me. A older guy stopped them. I didn’t get a chance to thank him. That was 40 years ago."
—Anonymous
21.And finally, "I was about 21 and shopping in a Pack & Save in Berkeley. I noticed there was a kind of weird looking old guy with a cane in the store, but I just bought my stuff and was walking home. I got about a block down the sidewalk when I realized the old man was following me and singing an obscene song about what he wanted to do to me. I crossed the street; he crossed the street after me, still singing his creepy little songs. I crossed back, and was really starting to panic (this was before cell phones), as I didn't want to lead him to my apartment. Just then, someone touched my arm and I almost screamed because I thought it was the creep."
"But instead, it was one of the store employees, a young guy about my age still wearing his badge and apron, and he said that his (female) manager had noticed the guy following me in the store and had sent him to help me if I needed it. As soon as he showed up, the creep disappeared, and the store checker walked me home. That was more than 30 years ago, and I will forever be grateful to both of those store employees for saving me."
—Anonymous
Have you ever been in a situation where a stranger stepped in and helped you when you needed it the most? Tell us about it in the comments. Or, if you'd rather stay anonymous, you can use this Google form. Your response may be featured in an upcoming BuzzFeed Community post.
