Close Encounter
My wife and I were heading home on a motorcycle from the market. We stopped at a nearby store to buy cooked noodles, pasta for breakfast, and Pandesal (bread) as well. It was last Saturday early in the morning. As I parked my motorcycle beside the pavement, opposite the store on the other side of the street, I requested that she should buy the food at that time, and she did. Oftentimes, I am the one buying the food and she just sits waiting on the motorcycle.
While she was in line, a transport trike stopped in front of me, and a male passenger came out from the side car. He was in his early 20s, thin, at least 5 feet 6 inches tall, and with scars on his face. It was 8 o’clock in the morning. I was thinking that the guy was kind of drunk, probably had a party last night because the trike driver seemed concerned about him while he got out of the vehicle.
The guy went straight inside the store behind me after he put his stuff on the pavement, a plastic bag of flyers. I thought he might be the son of the old woman in the store, so I didn't pay much attention. But as he walked out of the store, he bumped into my elbow and uttered a word. I just followed him with my eyes. He approached another store a few meters from me, the pet food shop where I used to buy cat food for my three cats. Moments later, the guy went out and went into the rice store on the other side of the road alongside the store where my wife was buying food. But the owner of the pet shop, who is a lesbian, was irritated by the guy's behavior. I realized that the guy might have a mental condition.
While in the rice store, he stumbled on an open sack of rice and the rice spilled on the floor. He ran out and crossed the street, heading in my direction. But then the stuff in the rice store where he had made a mess fell down, causing a banging sound. He paused in the middle of the street, feeling confused. He was uneasy and started raising his adrenaline. He grabbed the motorcycle that was parked next to me and tried to knock it down, but the owner immediately stopped him. Then the guy turned his attention to the car next to it, kicking the hood in anger. I was just watching the scenario without having any idea of what the guy would do next. He ran and passed behind me, then grabbed an old woman, but she was able to avoid him and ran to the other side of the road. The guy chased her and this time he bit her on the right shoulder, then let her go, leaving the old woman wounded. The people on the street were confused by the guy's behavior because he appeared to be a normal person with no signs of being a beggar or homeless.
He was agitated and more violent this time. He was on the other side of the street, gazing at the people around. He looked at me and started to move in my direction. I prepared myself for a possible violent attack. Then he attacked again. This time, a mother with her three-year-old daughter was his target. He grabbed the mother and tried to bite her again, but she was able to run while covering and protecting her daughter. My wife was done buying the food and approached me. I told her to walk through as the guy was still in aggression. As we left, I looked back and some men had already made a move and knocked him down. They grabbed him by the legs and tried to tie his hands. We got back home safely.
Until now I'm still trying to figure out the commotion made by that guy. Was he on drugs or something? Was he possessed by an evil spirit? What do you think was the cause of his unsettling behavior? Did you experience a similar event in the past? Share in the comment below.
**Images used are generated with Leonardo