IF I WASN'T RIGHT ON TIME

Sometimes when ladies tell me about their struggles, I can't help but sympathize with them wondering how hard it is to be an ordinary girl, and a beautiful one at that. The system of the world today has created a lot of perverts who only see women as sex toys not seeing that they are humans too and should be respected. On a certain occasion, I've had to save a friend from being raped and killed by a pervert who does that to women.

Sometime last year, a friend of mine who just had a break-up with her boyfriend who by the way wasn't worth it at all. It took a lot for her to realize, but it was good she did. But then again, heartbreak can make us do stupid things, and my friend wasn't an exception. She needed something to channel her pain, and probably forget the guy she was always ready to do anything for. It took a lot of convincing to ensure she doesn't go back to her alcoholic lifestyle and I thought I was doing a good job keeping her in check until she called me out of the blue that she was going on a date.

I knew she was not ready for a relationship, it was barely a week before she got out of two years of misery, and now suddenly she wants to go on a date. I knew she intended to find a reason to get high, but what was I to do, her mind was already made up. I advised her to be safe and call me if she needed anything. Later that Sunday afternoon, I came back from church tired and decided I would take a nap before eating when her call came through.

With my sleepy eyes, I picked up and she told me she was with the person and they were at his office. According to her, he wanted to stop by his office to get something before they go out on the date. Again in my sleepy mood I advised her to be vigilant and safe. Five minutes later I was already dozing off when her call came through. This time she was talking fast, telling me to come to her location. She couldn't explain, and just said I should hurry there. At this point sleep has left my eyes and I realized she had sent me a text message with the address before the call came through.

I couldn't think straight anymore, so I just wore the clothes I could pick and ran outside. I was already outside when I realized there was no money in my trouser pocket, but going back just seemed too far. Luckily I knew the address she sent, which is a 10 minutes drive from my house. You needed to see me running in the rain like a mad man, or a man in one of those Bollywood movies running to save the woman he loves. I got to the address within 20 minutes, calling her number as I ran.

The last time I called before reaching there, It was clear that she was in a struggle and the guy was beating her up in the process of trying to get hold of her phone. So getting there the phone was just ringing and no one was answering. The place was a commercial area where there are many small businesses in the form of stores, and being a Sunday, all of them were locked so it was hard to tell which one she was in. From the description she texted me, there was only one area like that, but the issue was that she didn't give me the exact store number. So I looked at them carefully to see if I would notice a difference in how they were closed.

I noticed that there was one that looked like it was closed from inside, and that was the one I went for. There was another photography store that was opened opposite that line, so I decided I would ask them for help since there were guys there, but their response seemed rather strange as they started locking up their store from the inside. I was about suspecting them, but then again, too much business was going on there for such a thing to occur. So I followed my huch and went to the office I was suspecting on my own. I knocked and knocked, but there was no response.

Contemplating my next line of action, I decided to take a step back, calm my nerves and observe. That was when her call came through again, and this time she was screaming that she was in the office. I just knocked. I didn't think twice so I went back there, pounding the door like I was going to pull it down, and to be honest, that was my plan. I decided to look for a big stone or wood that will serve as an equalizer when I finally get through. But just as I stepped out to search for it, the door opened and she got out all bruised up.

I had to take her to my place first, thankfully she still had money in her purse. And that was when she told me the guy planned on raping and killing her. Although she's trained in combat, she wasn't expecting she would be fighting for her life on a supposed date. She didn't know the guy from anywhere, and since he had been asking her on a date for a while, and she was looking for something to make her forget her pain, she decided a casual hangout with a complete stranger would do.

It was sad the guy only ran out of fear that he had been caught by many people, she even came out with her pad in her hand because she was on her flow, and was trying to beg the guy not to, but he was adamant and even tried stabbing her on many occasions. I first had to take her to a doctor for the bruises before I got her something to eat and took her home. If I should be sincere, I was scared for her, as I was for my life too, but turning my back didn't seem like an option. To date I still look back and wonder what would have happened if I had not been there.

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