Seven

Late in the evening, you were returning home after a long day. There was almost no one on the street—only the occasional streetlight illuminated the sidewalk, and the wind blew leaves across the road. You walked faster than usual, eager to get home.

Somewhere ahead, you suddenly heard a noise: shouts, rapid footsteps, and the sound of sirens in the distance. You turned around, but before you could comprehend anything, a man ran out of a dark alley.

He looked agitated and kept looking back. It later became clear that he was the criminal, who had been pursued by the police for several minutes.

Seeing you, he stopped abruptly and tried to hide next to you. It all happened in a matter of seconds: he grabbed you, trying to hold on, but you managed to move aside. He didn't have time to cause any serious harm—only a slight fright and a few scratches. And then bright headlights illuminated the street.

A police car stopped abruptly next to them, and officers ran out. They quickly apprehended the man, who was attempting to escape. You were standing a little to the side, still trying to come to your senses, when a young police officer approached you.

Semi took off his gloves and calmly asked: You replied that everything seemed fine, and he looked carefully, checking to make sure you weren’t hurt. "'It seems so' isn't an answer," he said with a slight smile. "Let's make sure."

Semi asked you a few questions: what happened, where the man came from, were there any threats. His voice was calm, and gradually the tension began to subside.

"You're lucky the patrol was nearby," he said. "But after that, walking home alone late at night isn't the best idea."

You were about to say that you could handle it yourself, but he looked at the empty street and added:

• I'll give you a ride.
• Of course. After this, I'm not going to leave you to walk across half the city alone. It was quiet in the car. Semi turned on the warm interior light to make you feel more comfortable, and along the way, he asked if everything was okay. You said that you were just delayed and didn’t expect anything like this.

— The main thing is that everything ended well.