I stood alone on the pavement. Outside noises filtered in, revving engines and car horns distracted me as I hurried along. It was hard to shake the feeling I was being followed. The sound of my feet slapping the pavement echoed every time there was a break in the traffic. My pace was fast, heart pounding with each stride, but the journey stretched on. Seeming far longer than on the way there. Everything’s fine, just keep going. He’s not behind you. Was he though? How I could I tell? Had he picked me specifically or had I been in the wrong place at the wrong time?

I balled my hands into fists, power walking, legs pumping as I marched along. My anger propelling me home. What had I become? That bastard. My faceless attacker. I hated him more than I’d ever hated anyone. I didn’t know who I was any more. Everything had changed; everything I’d taken for granted. The freedom to walk down the street without a care in the world. I hated being so weak. He’d turned me into a prisoner of my own anxiety and I wasn’t safe anywhere except inside my own four walls. I’d been stripped of my liberty, my confidence crumbled. He’d made me a victim.

When I got home, I was a panting, sweaty mess. I shut myself in my room. I wasn’t making progress at all, if anything, I was going backwards.

‘Why don’t you book a doctor’s appointment?’ Jane said, when I spoke to her on Sunday and told her about my disastrous visit to the library.

‘I don’t know. I not sure I want to talk about it with anyone else.’

‘I think you’re being a little hard on yourself, Eve. You’ve been through a lot and maybe you need a little intervention. Something for the anxiety.’

‘Maybe,’ I replied, half-heartedly. I heard Jane sigh down the phone.

‘I wish I could come over.’ I knew she was working. She had the stamina of a racehorse, her plans to travel around Asia and America spurring her on. Sometimes I thought about going with her, being part of her adventure. I wasn’t sure I was that brave, especially not now.

‘I think I’m going to try and go back to work tomorrow. Perhaps some normality will do me good. Back to the old routine, so I don’t think about it so much.’

Jane thought it would be a good idea The line crackled and I could hear the booming tannoy overhead.

‘I’ve got to go, hon, they’re calling for me.’