Yesterday I went through one of the worst moments of my life.
Yes, I was almost a victim of a mugging and God knows what else.
I attended a hearing in the Court of Appeal for most part of the day and then rushed off to the Bar Council for the briefing on the new Court Rules 2012. On top of everything else, I was fasting sempena Nisfu Syaaban.
It was really jammed on the way home and feeling exhausted and knowing I could not reach home in time, I stopped at Giant Kelana Jaya to open fast. I parked my car at the side entrance. The parking lot was dark and not really lighted but I was so used to coming here, I did not really feel scared.
When I parked, I noticed 2 indonesian guys sitting out at the entrance smoking cigarettes. The weirs thing is, I felt a weird scary instinct like I should go home and not stop here. But I ignored it and walked inside. I sat down in the Chicken Rice Shop, ordered food and fiddled away on my phone, oblivious to my surroundings. A few minutes after opening my fast, I notice that the 2 guys were now in the restaurant as well. They were sitting quite far away and would normally out of sight, but I was sitting at a weird angle in the table and managed to see them without them actually seeing me. Strangely enough, they did not order food but just a drink each. And each one of them would actually crane their necks to check on me every now and then, not knowing that I can actually see them.
I felt pangs of fear but to test my suspicions I ate really slowly to see if they were just having drinks or were actually waiting for me to finish. Almost 40 minutes later. They still did not move from their chairs and hardly drank their drinks. But I still wanted to make confirm my suspicions. I got up, paid for my food and started walking around inside Giant in packed areas. Sure enough, they split up and covered different areas, meaning one would always be to my left, and the other to my right. I know however, that they could not make a move because the place was jam packed with people.
Scared I was because my suspicions were confirmed, I decided to do the following things:-
1. Not panic. And this was important because my first instinct in my moment of fear was to walk to my car where I felt safe, lock it and drive home. This would have been a mistake because someone may be waiting for me there.
2. Call/Approach reliable people. I called my sis, then my Dad to state that I think I was being followed. And they were on their way to pick me up straight away.
3. Keep yourself in a public place where you are sure you would be safe. My place of choice was at Starbucks, chock full of people at the time.
As soon as I sat inside, they lingered outside stealing looks at me. After a while, I think they realised that I knew they were tailing me. So they split up and disappeared, giving me the impression that I was now safe.
But I did not move. What if they were just staying out of sight, only to pounce on me when I am alone? When my parents came, they escorted me out of Giant and my dad took my car and my mum drove the other car, in different routes and directions home.
I made it out of this one, but needless to say I was and still am shaken. When I was sitting in Starbucks for about 15 minutes (the longest 15 minutes of my life) waiting for my parents, my life literally flashed before my eyes. I thought about giving birth to Airiel, about playing with Bonda and Maksu when we were kids, about my parents, about my wedding day to Aries and about my Long Call day. You truly realise what is truly important to you at times like this.
Girls, please be careful out there. Please please be vigilant. Had I not noticed these details and for instance, kept playing with my phone and then simply walked to my car, I truly believe that I would not be typing out this post at all. I would surely be dead.
And always trust your instincts. When you have a bad feeling, believe it because it's a sign from God to you. That was what I had. A bad feeling.
I am alive.
Everyday is a blessing.
Have a good weekend guys.
Yes, I was almost a victim of a mugging and God knows what else.
I attended a hearing in the Court of Appeal for most part of the day and then rushed off to the Bar Council for the briefing on the new Court Rules 2012. On top of everything else, I was fasting sempena Nisfu Syaaban.
It was really jammed on the way home and feeling exhausted and knowing I could not reach home in time, I stopped at Giant Kelana Jaya to open fast. I parked my car at the side entrance. The parking lot was dark and not really lighted but I was so used to coming here, I did not really feel scared.
When I parked, I noticed 2 indonesian guys sitting out at the entrance smoking cigarettes. The weirs thing is, I felt a weird scary instinct like I should go home and not stop here. But I ignored it and walked inside. I sat down in the Chicken Rice Shop, ordered food and fiddled away on my phone, oblivious to my surroundings. A few minutes after opening my fast, I notice that the 2 guys were now in the restaurant as well. They were sitting quite far away and would normally out of sight, but I was sitting at a weird angle in the table and managed to see them without them actually seeing me. Strangely enough, they did not order food but just a drink each. And each one of them would actually crane their necks to check on me every now and then, not knowing that I can actually see them.
I felt pangs of fear but to test my suspicions I ate really slowly to see if they were just having drinks or were actually waiting for me to finish. Almost 40 minutes later. They still did not move from their chairs and hardly drank their drinks. But I still wanted to make confirm my suspicions. I got up, paid for my food and started walking around inside Giant in packed areas. Sure enough, they split up and covered different areas, meaning one would always be to my left, and the other to my right. I know however, that they could not make a move because the place was jam packed with people.
Scared I was because my suspicions were confirmed, I decided to do the following things:-
1. Not panic. And this was important because my first instinct in my moment of fear was to walk to my car where I felt safe, lock it and drive home. This would have been a mistake because someone may be waiting for me there.
2. Call/Approach reliable people. I called my sis, then my Dad to state that I think I was being followed. And they were on their way to pick me up straight away.
3. Keep yourself in a public place where you are sure you would be safe. My place of choice was at Starbucks, chock full of people at the time.
As soon as I sat inside, they lingered outside stealing looks at me. After a while, I think they realised that I knew they were tailing me. So they split up and disappeared, giving me the impression that I was now safe.
But I did not move. What if they were just staying out of sight, only to pounce on me when I am alone? When my parents came, they escorted me out of Giant and my dad took my car and my mum drove the other car, in different routes and directions home.
I made it out of this one, but needless to say I was and still am shaken. When I was sitting in Starbucks for about 15 minutes (the longest 15 minutes of my life) waiting for my parents, my life literally flashed before my eyes. I thought about giving birth to Airiel, about playing with Bonda and Maksu when we were kids, about my parents, about my wedding day to Aries and about my Long Call day. You truly realise what is truly important to you at times like this.
Girls, please be careful out there. Please please be vigilant. Had I not noticed these details and for instance, kept playing with my phone and then simply walked to my car, I truly believe that I would not be typing out this post at all. I would surely be dead.
And always trust your instincts. When you have a bad feeling, believe it because it's a sign from God to you. That was what I had. A bad feeling.
I am alive.
Everyday is a blessing.
Have a good weekend guys.
Uhh, bahayenye dunia ni. Kena lebib hati2 pasni. thanks for sharing dis.
ReplyDeleteTakut dan seram baca entRay ni. Giant kj was e one where i accidentally met u@starbucks and noticed u are my excolleague wife.
ReplyDeleteRemember? Takutnya bila tau giant kj is no longer safe. I used to go there to meet my biz partner atau ke satu kedai ala2 indonesia sederet maybank. Now rasa seram sejuk..
But anyway..alhamdulillah u are safe
Alhamdullilah, allah protected you from harm. Tapi sekarang ni mmg scary, nak keluar lunch and run errands pun takut2.
ReplyDeleteKak Lina : Memang bahaya. Kita kena alert kalau seorang. Sekelip mata dan semuanya boleh berubah
ReplyDeleteDura: Mana mana pun bahaya sekarang ni. Kita perempuan kena berhati hati. There is a lot of bad people out there
Far : Tula. Idza dah biasa ke mana pun sorang except weekends sebab Matyi duduk JB and dia pun dah izinkan idza keluar kalau untuk nak run errands and bayar bil ke apa. Tapi this episode mmg menakutkan.Moga kita semua perempuan ni dilindungi. Idza rasa one of the reasons idza jadi target sbb idza kebetulan bawak kereta matyie and sorang pulak tu. Kalau idza bwk kereta cabuk idza maybe diorg tak target. Diorng mmg target luxury cars drive by women alone. Jadi becareful kalau nak bwk kereta mahal sorang sorang. Baik jangan!
ReplyDelete