Treading on the Heels

John is a regular and ordinary man. He lives in a big city and works as a night-shift security guard in the subway. After work, early in the morning, John goes home and takes care of his usual tasks. He lives alone in his apartment, avoids people, doesn't like his coworkers, and gets easily bothered by things around him. Sometimes, it seems like he has some kind of mental issue. John's nervous state intensifies as he repeatedly finds himself in unpleasant situations due to his quirks. A failed encounter with a girl at a café, mockery from movie theater visitors, an unpleasant incident in the supermarket checkout line. All these situations are a constant source of stress for him. Only at home, away from everyone, John does feel safe. But even this tranquility comes to an end. At home, John behaves very suspiciously - he hears strange noises, feels like things are out of place, and the neighbor's TV is always playing in the background. Meanwhile tension grows with his colleagues at work, a smiling Stranger pesters him at the café, and John feels like someone is following him. He can't get a good night of sleep at home due to noisy neighbors. The Stranger at the café approaches John again and begins to follow him everywhere. John tries to find out who this man is, to uncover his motives, but the Stranger remains silent. John wants to escape from him, but all in vain. The Stranger walks behind John, pursues him at work, to the subway, on the bus, to the movies, everywhere. John doesn't like it, but he doesn't have the guts to fight back. John feels like he's gradually losing his mind. He reaches out to the police for help. After a strange interrogation, the officers apprehend the disturber of the peace, but after some time, he resurfaces and starts stalking John near his house. Finally, John tries to fight back, but unexpectedly the Stranger retaliates. Now John is really scared, his life is in danger. He attempts to bribe the Stranger, but he refuses the money. He just looks at John and smiles friendly all the time. John gets scared and tries to hide in his apartment. Paranoia sets in as he senses the approaching danger. In desperation, he decides to ask his mother for help. He peeks into her room, but only to find there a decaying corpse. John descends into madness, plagued by auditory and visual hallucinations. Meanwhile, the Stranger infiltrates the apartment, relentlessly pursuing John in the hallway, on the stairwell, everywhere. Mysteriously, he is appearing in different locations. He pushes John to the brink of a nervous breakdown. As a result, John decides to end his life. Before his death, he wants to find out who this enigmatic madman really is. But he receives the same response as in the beginning - that he is nobody. John jumps out of the window, but miraculously survives. The Stranger follows him. He lies next to John on the ground, looking into his eyes and still smiling friendly.