'Mysterious' lady at Sixth Circle to intruders: “Leave me alone”
- When would leaving someone alone be the correct thing to do?
A bus stop near Amman’s Sixth Circle has become an ‘attraction site’ where many Jordanians approach a dark corner to check up on a meditating young lady who sits there by herself all night.
Sixth Circle Lady
Given the nickname of ‘The Sixth Circle Lady,’ the young lady caught the attention of motorists and passersby, as they wondered about the tale behind her extended outdoor solitude.
Many try to approach her and offer any kind of help. She would respond with a simple no and refuse to accept any help or discuss her situation with anyone, as reported by the Roya team.
Countless explanations flare on TikTok as people try to explore ‘her story.’ The most famous ones include her having Post Traumatic Stress Disorder following her mother’s death in the same spot, others say it was her father who died, and other odd scenarios.
A one-time university graduate with digital media followers and an e-social life, this lady recoils to solitude, as she refuses to mingle with intruders or answer their queries.
Blank stare
On a cold December night, Roya News sat down with the lady and inquired why she would be sitting in that specific spot.
“I come here at night, this is a crowded street full of cars,” she mumbled with a blank stare. “I feel safe here,” she said while pointing her finger at several surveillance cameras.
Roya’s team asked her, as they shivered, if she felt cold considering she was only wearing a jacket, pair of jeans, and white sneakers.
“My jacket is very heavy,” she responded while pulling at her sleeves.
“I am not cold, not hungry, not anything,” as if she was shrugging off their presence. “You should leave now. It’s getting late,” she told Roya's team, sharply.
It was difficult to win the trust of this lady as reporters tried to reassure her anonymity and dissolve to respect her privacy.
My dad is alive and well
During the hour-long talk, she informed Roya that she is a university graduate, in her thirties, and despite what some say, she does not always sit there “because her father died in the same spot.”
She is ultrasensitive to strangers and furious about them neglecting her presence as if she is out of touch with reality. The topic of her father’s health arose when a young woman, in her early twenties, stepped out of a car directly and immediately began addressing the Roya team instead of the lady which made the latter visibly aggravated.
The young woman, finally addressing the lady: “I lost my dad too, I know how you are feeling.”
The lady, who was taken by surprise, replied with: “My dad is alive and well. He drives his car around all day,” before asking sharply: “Why would you spread false information and say my dad is dead?”
Old Facebook posts by the young lady suggest that she had lost her mother; a possible explanation for her state of mind and chagrin engulfing her life.
I just want to be left alone!
While Roya was sitting with her, dozens of people drove by to stare, look at her with pity, or offer her help and food.
At one point, a guy came over with a fresh shawarma meal.
“We bought this meal for you,” the guy said.
She responded: “No, thank you. I’ve already eaten three meals today.”
“Please, just take it. You can eat it later,” he said, giving her a pleading look.
She took the meal and left it next to her untouched.
Later, three men started walking back and forth, trying to find a way to open a conversation with her but coming up empty. Finally, a guy addressed one of Roya’s staff asking to talk privately, but the Sixth Circle Lady interrupted him, saying: “You can all leave, I know you want to ask her about me, just leave.”
After they left, she suddenly turned back to the team and said: “I just want people to leave me alone!” citing times many would come around to take videos of her and say they are worried about her but in reality, according to her: “they do not care, they are just curious.”
“Hundreds of cars just stop here, take videos of me, then post them on TikTok without my permission,” she added.
“They are not respecting my privacy.”
Authorities are helping me
When asked if anything can be done to help her, she replied: “The relevant authorities are helping me,” in reference to the Ministry of Social Development and the Family Protection Department.
“They know everything,” she said, refusing to elaborate any further. “No one except for the relevant authorities has the right to ask me about my situation.”
In response to Roya, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Social Development Ashraf Khrais explains that the pertinent authorities repeatedly offered support for the lady in question. “She would always refuse,” he added.
Her response was the same to the Family Protection Department, the Jordanian Women's Union Association, in addition to civil society organizations.
Curiosity killed the cat?
As she answered Roya’s queries, she barely maintained eye contact but opted to keep refreshing her TikTok main page with her headsets in, to a point where the team was not sure if she was even listening.
She, repeatedly, warned Roya’s team against sitting on the bench next to her: “Now everyone will take a video of you too and post it on TikTok.”
“You’ll find yourselves all over TikTok,” the bored lady exclaimed. “One of my friends sat next to me on the bench, and another girl just appeared out of nowhere, and sat next to us, while listening in on our conversation.”
When the “secluded” lady and her friend asked the other girl what she wanted. The girl snapped back: “Never mind me, just keep talking.”
“We were a bit taken aback,” the lady told Roya’s team.
“Everyone is so curious. I’m just a normal person like you,” she said.
They say ‘curiosity killed the cat’ but not everyone seems to agree on leaving a young woman alone all night although she repeatedly drives them away.
