A retail store clerk is stocking items when a white-eyed man, with a compassionate voice, asks her a question. She is immediately alarmed by the encounter.
"After some consideration, I have decided to share a strange and brief encounter I had while working at a retail store many years ago. This has stuck with me and I’ve consistently looked back and wondered if there was more to it.
It was an early afternoon in 2011 when I was working at a home retail store. I was kneeling, stocking small kitchen gadgets. From behind I heard a man ask, “Excuse me, where can I find the napkins?”
As soon as I heard his voice, I was immediately transfixed. I have never heard a voice that was so crystal clear and so soothing, with a tone so filled with patience, kindness, and compassion. It was disarming and I was immediately eager to help. I began to turn around and stand up, and while still in a somewhat crouching position, I tilted my head up to look at him—then everything changed.
There are three physical characteristics I remember about this person. First—his eyes appeared white. Second is his height. I only looked for a split second, so I can’t be sure, but it seemed like he was the tallest person I’d ever encountered. Third was his hair. It was shoulder length, white, or very light blond. It splayed outwards forming a backdrop for his face, sort of sticking out on the sides and all around but not in a messy or unkempt way.
As soon as I saw his face, especially his eyes, all the positive feelings were immediately replaced with a primal emotion of unjustifiable fear. It was so intense I couldn’t bear to look at him.
I immediately turned back around and returned to the kneeling position with my back towards him again. All I could think when seeing this person was “Get away from me.” I went from being charmed when hearing his voice to intensely repelled when seeing his face. I was not disgusted, nor did I fear for my safety. I just remember a jolt of adrenaline taking over and feeling an intense need to put as much space between me and this person as possible. It’s hard to explain, but it felt like I encountered something I’d never met before, but somehow knew I wouldn’t be harmed.
With my back to him (it still confuses me that I exposed my back to a person who had such an intense effect on me), I pointed over my head toward my left and said “They’re two aisles that way.” The man responded “But I just want to know where the napkins are.” I replied once again, pointing over my head “They’re two aisles that way.” He asked yet again “But I just want to know where the napkins are.” Completely overwhelmed and jittery, I replied the same way a 3rd time. He finally left me alone and I felt a sense of relief when I no longer heard the man’s voice. I thought to myself “What just happened?”
Around 30 seconds went by as I came back to my senses and a strong sense of guilt overcame me. I was aghast at myself for treating someone so rudely and felt a strong desire to apologize to the man. I stood up from the kneeling position and looked over to the napkin aisle, expecting to see the man towering over everything. He wasn’t there. Confused and still feeling guilty, I walked around the entire store hoping to find this man. I never did. And there really was barely enough time for someone to get out of the store when I started looking for him.
I cannot communicate clearly enough the emotional rollercoaster that started with hearing this man’s mellifluous voice, then to the overwhelming anxiety that hit me like a freight train when I made eye contact, to desperately hoping he’d leave me alone, to relief, then guilt, then confusion. I have never met anyone who has elicited such intense emotions from me, let alone all in less than a minute.
It was probably just a customer looking for napkins but boy has this encounter been seared into my memory. I’ve considered that I may have been very rude to a blind person, but they didn’t have a dog and I didn’t notice a cane. It also seems it would have taken a blind person longer to leave the store. Also, I can’t describe what he was wearing or how old he was although I’m pretty sure he was at least in his thirties or early forties.
I wonder if you have heard of anyone who has seen someone with similar physical traits or has experienced anything similar that can hopefully provide some insight into this encounter." S
.jpg)
.jpg)
