The boy had disappeared now, his promised bargain an obvious sham.
How could I be so stupid? she thought. Then, that should be my mantra.
She tightened the strap on her purse and tugged it around so it lay flat on her belly. She imagined this would be how a mother might protect a newborn. Or perhaps a female kangaroo.
Everything was in the purse. Money, passport, credit cards. She mentally rehearsed what she might say at the consulate, assuming she survived. Istanbul was supposedly safe, but who knew, really?
She heard a sound behind her. The boy was laughing.
Friday Fictioneers
Was the boy laughing to taunt her at his trap? Or good-naturedely. We don’t know, and, of course, neither does she
Dear J Hardy,
Sounds a little like shutting the barn door after the horses escaped.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Ooh, I love how open this is, and how much you leave up to our own imaginations. Are the things still in her purse, what did the boy promise, and what does his laughter mean. Wonderful.
That laugh was a tad unsettling… but maybe he was just being happy about his scams… yes there can be more to come, but it’s not for sure.
Open end, I like that…I choose a happy end. :)
Perhaps her tormentors are in for a shock. She’s a black belt.
I love the ambiguity of this. I shall convince myself he’s just having a little joke. But there’s a part of me that suspects he’s not.
This story could go either way – he was laughing at her fear when he was just playing or a sinister sound at her being duped!
Ominous.
That laugh sounds dreadful – the poor woman has a bad time ahead.
I know the laughter of witty locals about naive tourists, having falling into one or other trap myself. Poor woman, I hope she learns her lesson.
Seems she’s just a bamboozled tourist…until she hears him laughing behind her. Very suspenseful. Well done!
Somehow boys laughing behind me give me the creeps… Well done.