Baker Street

The other night I was reading at the bus stop. The book was a gift from a friend of mine who knew how much I love to read and also knew that I was bored on the way home from work on public transportation.

The book was about an elderly man who couldn't find his keys when he returned home. It wasn't a very interesting story and to be honest it bored me a bit, but I had nothing else to do so I kept reading:

The elderly man panicked when he couldn't find his keys anymore, as it was already getting dark. Looking around he saw a light at the bus stop on Baker Street, a girl was sitting there reading a book, she seemed kind and maybe she would help him.

The story was absurd since I was just sitting there reading a book... while I was trying to realize what was happening, I heard a voice:

“Excuse me, can you help me?”

I turned and saw an elderly man in a jacket and hat, just as he was described in the book. The man continued speaking:

“Excuse me but the street is dark, I must have lost my keys somewhere, can you help me look for them?”

For a moment I burst out laughing nervously, thinking it was a stupid coincidence. The man, however, was offended and withdrew.

Then I helped him with the cell phone light, but there was no key.

“Don't you have a relative you can call?” - I asked him

“No, I live alone” - he replied.

I didn't know what to do to help him and at that moment my bus arrived. I had to go, I said goodbye to him and got on board.

Sitting in my seat I continued reading the book.

I couldn't believe my eyes:

The girl helped the man look for the keys with the light of her cell phone, but at that moment the bus arrived and abandoned him on the side of the road.

The disconsolate man didn't know what to do, so he tried to attract the attention of two boys who were walking on the opposite sidewalk.

They approached him and asked him if he was waiting for someone, but when he replied that he was alone, they attacked him, stole his wallet, and left him injured on the ground.

Oh no! I had to go back! I had to call the police. I asked the bus driver to stop, I had to get off, but he didn't hear me. I asked the bus passengers for help, but no one heard me or looked at me. I screamed that I had to get down, I had to help him!

I felt a touch on my shoulder, and I woke up.

A girl asked me: “Are you okay?”

I was still at the bus stop, I had fallen asleep while reading...

The End

***

Thank you for reading. I wrote this story about 6 months ago and published it on another platform. The girl sitting at the bus stop at Baker Street was a given prompt to start the story.

The story is translated from Italian with the help of Google Translate and Grammarly.

Thank you for reading!

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think! Thank you!

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