While riding the train one day, I noticed a man sit directly across from me. He said nothing—just stared. His intense, unblinking gaze made me so uneasy that I got off several stops early just to get away. I didn’t recognize him, and the experience left me shaken.
Minutes later, my phone rang. It was my husband, sounding panicked. “Were you just on the train?” he asked. When I said yes, he explained that his boss—who had just seen me—called him, upset that I hadn’t greeted him. Confused, I asked for clarification, and my husband sent a photo. To my shock, it was the same man who had made me feel so uncomfortable.
I told my husband exactly what happened, expecting some understanding. Instead, he downplayed my concerns. “He’s just awkward,” he said. “Don’t make this a big deal.” Then he added that this could affect his chance at a promotion and asked me to go back to the station to make things right.
That was the final straw. I refused. I won’t put myself in a situation that feels unsafe to please someone else—especially not to protect someone’s job. I told him firmly: my safety and boundaries come first. Then I hung up.