Of all the Tales of the Unexpected, this is probably the most chilling, terrifying and disturbing one.
The story opens with a news report showing the police searching for a missing girl. We see another girl, Sylvia, walking home from her piano lesson, with a man watching her. When she gets home, she sees on the news that the missing girl has been found dead on waste ground nearby it looks as if there is a murderer at work in the area. Sylvia is very apprehensive when she has to go home after the next week's lesson, especially when she sees the man again, and that apprehension turns to panic when he gets on the bus and starts chatting to her he is very amiable and very charming, but also very very creepy.
Sylvia is so afraid that when she sees an elderly lady get off the bus, she follows her so as to be safe with her, even though it is several stops before her own house. The woman takes care of Sylvia and they go back to the woman's house so she can phone the police. Then comes the twist a very memorable one that I certainly wasn't expecting. Never trust "safe" little old ladies! The look of desperation on Sylvia's face as she suddenly realises the utter hopelessness of her situation is one that stays with you for a long time.
Nowadays, with the emphasis on abduction, stalking and "don't talk to strangers", the story is even more poignant than it would have been at the time it was made.
The story opens with a news report showing the police searching for a missing girl. We see another girl, Sylvia, walking home from her piano lesson, with a man watching her. When she gets home, she sees on the news that the missing girl has been found dead on waste ground nearby it looks as if there is a murderer at work in the area. Sylvia is very apprehensive when she has to go home after the next week's lesson, especially when she sees the man again, and that apprehension turns to panic when he gets on the bus and starts chatting to her he is very amiable and very charming, but also very very creepy.
Sylvia is so afraid that when she sees an elderly lady get off the bus, she follows her so as to be safe with her, even though it is several stops before her own house. The woman takes care of Sylvia and they go back to the woman's house so she can phone the police. Then comes the twist a very memorable one that I certainly wasn't expecting. Never trust "safe" little old ladies! The look of desperation on Sylvia's face as she suddenly realises the utter hopelessness of her situation is one that stays with you for a long time.
Nowadays, with the emphasis on abduction, stalking and "don't talk to strangers", the story is even more poignant than it would have been at the time it was made.