The Sandbox : Question (and answer)

I was between 16 and 19 years old; my bedroom was on the ground floor at the front of my parents’ isolated home. I can't remember how late it was but it was definitely pitch black outside and, unbeknown to me, my curtains weren't quite closed in the middle. I was getting undressed and was wearing one of those skin-tight bodies that fastened between the legs with press studs that were really difficult to undo.

So, there I was, in the centre of the floor, legs spreadeagled, grappling with the fastenings of the body and otherwise naked. Halfway through the difficult and somewhat painful task I took a split-second breather, looked up, directly into the eyes of a man watching me from outside. I screamed and moved - he bolted - and as it was black outside, I couldn't identify the man, although I could tell he was quite young.

My parents called the police, who tried to track him with dogs. The dogs lost his scent at the waterway that ran near the house. I do have my suspicions as we lived in a very remote area, with only one nearish neighbour who happened to have two teenage boys of a similar age to me.

Needless to say, I became obsessed with ensuring that my curtains were completely closed after that.