It’s Halloween and Destiny is trick or treating with her friends. They are 13, so they are starting to think it will be their last year to do this together! She’s in a cute Tinkerbell costume. It’s a warm fall night. The moon is brightly lighting the sidewalks. She is wearing her green, sparkly short dress, her hair in a messy bun, with beautifully crafted fairy wings. She feels beautiful. They make it to their last stop and knock on the door.
“Trick or Treat!”, they yell.
They get some candy, Swedish Fish, her favorite. Destiny and her friends say goodnight. They will see each other at school and they all start to walk home.
Destiny lives about 4 blocks away from where they were trick or treating. She makes it to the end of the road and when she turns, she realizes that someone is following her. She can’t make out the shadow, but by the height, she thinks it’s a man.
Her heart starts to beat harder. She tries to come up with a plan if he tries to come and take her. She walks a little faster.
She thinks about her family. She texts them that she’s on her way home and that she loves them. She looks back.
She walks a little faster.
She starts to think about her costume, “Is my dress too short?”, “Did I say something to him earlier?”, “Did I seduce him?”. She pulls down her skirt a little more and…
she walks a little faster.
She pretends to look down at her phone. She thinks about her getaway plan and if there are any flaws. Why does this walk feel like it’s taking so long? Just a few more steps and she will be to her block. He’s still behind her.
She walks a little faster.
Heart still pounding Destiny finally makes it to her block. She takes that left turn as fast as her feet can take her. She takes a couple more paces, looks back, he’s gone.
In today’s society, we should teach our children to be aware of their surroundings. However, teaching them to fear what is outside of their door, may cause trauma. The distress Destiny was in, was a sign of fear, but also of her feeling like she is in the wrong. Her heart pounding. Thinking about what she was wearing. Walking faster every time she turned and saw the person who she believed to be following her. We want to protect the people we love, but don’t steal the innocence, or even the personality, of our children. Teach our girls that rapists cause rape. It’s not about what she wears, what time of night it is, or how much she drank. Women are free to be who they are without feeling like they need to be different to prevent an assault. It’s time to take back the night and our fear.