I pulled up to a vacant house I was renting one afternoon a few years ago. I opened the lockbox, took out the key and opened the door. My appointment had not yet shown up so I thought I would open up some of the drapes.
I walked into the kitchen and noted that the drapes at the slider were blowing into the room. The slider door was ajar about six inches. I went over to the door and shut and locked it. I thought that was strange, but everything was in order so I was not too alarmed. Someone must have left the door unlocked at a previous showing. I decided to check the bedrooms just in case.
The first two bedrooms and hall bath looked fine. I entered the master bedroom and made my way to the master bathroom which was very small. As I entered the bathroom I thought I saw a shadow in the crack of the door. I stepped into the room and the door was suddenly pushed shut. A young man was standing in the corner. He was a few inches shorter than me. I probably outweighed him by 30 pounds.
I looked down and noticed that this fists were clinched. At least he did not have a gun or a knife!
We stared at each other for a moment. Finally, I said to him, "I am going to open the door and walk to the front of the house. You follow me and when we get outside, you can leave. Ok, I am opening the door."
So I opened the door and we walked through the master bedroom, down the hallway, into the entry, and out the front door. The young man passed me by and kept walking. I stayed at the front door. When he got about 10 steps away he turned and said to me, "I could have killed you."
I did not respond except to prepare to greet the people who were just driving up to see the house.
Let's be careful out there!
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