A seven-year-old girl realized that a strange man in black clothes was following her; but instead of going home, she did something completely unexpected 

The seven-year-old girl was walking home after school. In her hands she carried her school bag, with notebooks sticking out unevenly, and on her shoulder hung a scarf that kept slipping down. The yard was quiet and empty. Only near the entrance stood someone.

It was a tall man in a long black coat. His face was partly hidden by a scarf and the raised collar, but even that was enough to make him look frightening. He seemed to be waiting for someone. From time to time he glanced around, then fixed his gaze back on the house.

The girl began to feel uneasy. Her father’s words came back to her mind.

The man noticed her. His eyes grew heavy and wary. He took a few steps forward, as if checking whether there were any witnesses nearby. The street was empty: no passers-by, no cars. The girl felt her heart pounding in her chest, her palms sweating. The man quickened his pace.

She turned around — he was already very close. Her eyes darted nervously around the staircase. And suddenly she did something that even shocked the man in black . Thanks to that, the girl remained alive and unharmed. Continuation in the first comment 

A thought flashed in her mind: “Light! Noise!”

She suddenly switched on all the lights on the landing, illuminating the dark stairwell, and banged with all her strength on the nearest door.

— Help! Help! — her voice cracked with panic.

The echo spread through the building. The man in black froze for a moment, as if he hadn’t expected the child to act so decisively.

At that instant the door flew open, and in the doorway stood a strong man in home clothes. Behind him appeared the figure of a woman.

— What’s going on here? — he asked sternly, glancing first at the girl, then at the strange man.

The man in black flinched, his eyes widened in surprise. He turned and almost ran out of the entrance, disappearing into the darkness of the yard.

The girl was still trembling, clutching her school bag tightly, but inside she felt a spark of pride. She remembered her father’s words and did exactly what she needed to do. And that saved her life.