21 March 2019. Rio de Janeiro. I’m on my way to my language class. It’s late afternoon but it’s still light and instead of taking an uber or the bus, I decide to walk. I’m walking along the main connecting road. To my right the fence that encloses the botanical garden, to my left the busy street. For at least 500 meters there is no crossroad on either side of the pathway. During the first few minutes a lot of other pedestrians are on the sidewalk. But at some point I suddenly find myself alone. No one in front of me, no one coming my way. On my left, cars racing by, on my right the fence of the botanical garden. I dare a quick glance back and from the corner of my eye I see that a person is walking some meters behind me. I keep walking. I straighten my back, I put my hand into the pocket of my pants to feel for my phone. I let my other hand rest on the flap of my purse. Just loosely, as if incidental. I walk quickly, but without rush, just assertive. I know where I’m going. I belong here.
I’m walking fast but the person behind me is walking faster. Coming closer. I feel pressure on my chest as if I were in a compression chamber. I keep my pace, I stay in the middle of the sidewalk, I inhale and exhale, but I can feel my breath getting shallow. I keep walking and the person keeps coming closer and I think this is it, these are the last seconds before it happens. And then the person passes and nothing happens.