Angel?

From: 
Story type: Angel
Location: Hollywood, California
Source: Form Submission

When I was between the ages of 6-9 we lived in an apartment one block north of Hollywood Boulevard. This was in the early 1970s and during that time Hollywood was quite a wild town. My brother and I lived with our recently divorced father and things were a little rough because our mom decided she didn't want to be a mother anymore and left us to "live her own life." I only mention this because maybe it is why I was so vulnerable at that time in my life. Well, as any little kid does, I LOVED candy. Any time I could scrounge some change I was off to the candy store around the corner on Hollywood Boulevard.

Well one day as I was coming to the corner of my street and the boulevard a man in a car signalled me to come over. I came close but not too close. He had had a tracheotomy and did not speak. He had a dollar in his hand and was waving it at me like he wanted to give it to me. Ignoring everything my parents had told me I took the dollar from him and continued on to the store and bought candy. I guess my greed got the better of me.

Anyway, this went on for a while. Every once in a while he would be there and give me money. The classic pedophile building up trust in a child, right? I didn't see it but I was only 7 at the time. Being raised by a newly single father we had a lot of freedom at that time in our lives. Anyway, one day the man was there but with a woman in his car. He held out even more money and pointed into the car, like he would give me that money if I came with him. I guess the woman was there to make me feel better. I know it sounds stupid but I actually considered it. the woman said that he wanted to take me to the store to buy a lot of candy and didn't want me walking.

I can honestly say that I felt like a deer in the headlights. I was frozen to the spot and just stood there considering it when out of nowhere this man stepped on the curb from Hollywood Boulevard coming toward me. I never saw him coming and I had been looking around while deciding what to do. He was a very tall African American man and all he said was "Hey old man leave that little girl alone." the man drove away and I never saw him again. The man then leaned down toward me and said "Go straight home, little girl. Don't talk to that man again, he's bad." I turned and ran. I never saw him again either. I don't know where he came from or where he went, he just kind of appeared. I know in my heart he was an angel protecting me.

As a side note, my best friend lived in the apartments down the street. Her parents managed the building and her father was a policeman. About a month after this happened my friend told me that a couple in her building had been taken away because they were doing bad things to children. She described him to me and it was the same man. So, thank you to my angel out there.