The Bag

"Excuse me! I think this is your bag!"

Jason waved the taupe shoulder bag in the air like a leathery flag, trying to attract the attention of its owner as she headed off along the platform away from the carriage. The back of her head was just visible above the others bobbing on their workaday way to wherever. He took a deep breath to shout when the announcer came over the system and he knew that he could not compete.

He went back to his seat, defeated as the train door closed and it began its slow movement to its next stop. He looked out of the window to see if he could attract the eye of "Leather Taupe Shoulder Bag", the crowds still moving, like sludge through a pipe, shuffling by millimetres.

There she was! He thumped hard on the glass and she must have seen the movement in her peripheral vision as she turned and saw a wildly gesticulating man, bearded and well-groomed, banging like an enraged ape on the train window and then holding in his hands what looked like her shoulder bag. She frowned and then realised from the lack of weight on her shoulder that it was indeed hers.

Shit. What could she do?

Jason saw the frown, then the realisation, and ultimately, the recognition as she glanced at her left shoulder and it slumped in response. The train was gaining speed and she was a waving stranger on a packed platform, desperate for the person who had her bag to know that she had seen him.

Jason had mixed feelings: she knew she'd lost her bag; she knew that he had it. But what the fuck should he do now?

He sat heavily and got to thinking. The bag was on the seat next to him.

Perhaps it could offer a clue of what to do.

But should he? Look in a stranger's bag?

What else could he do?

And so, he opened it.

No phone. A comb. A notebook. A book. Tissues. Tampons. Receipts. Fluff. Crumbs. A purse.

Now, he was at an impasse. Hand it in at the next station or seek her out?

What should he do?

***

366 words

Let's have a little fun, shall we? Does anyone remember those books where you got to "Choose Your Own Adventure"? We had "Fighting Fantasy" which was the same sort of thing but British and were a bit like D&D in a book with dice to role and decisions to make and paths to take - you know the sort of thing.

Do you fancy doing that with this story? I'll have to set a deadline for responses but I'm thinking that if I have a day to write it, that should be enough so I can publish on alternate days, and you can tell me where you want the story to go and I will write something that corresponds with reader choice.

What do you reckon? Could be fun? Either way, I'm going to write it but I'd like to see where you'd like it to head because we're all writers here and I love to interact with fellow Vocalists. So, what do you say?

If you fancy joining in, write where you would like it to go in the comments and I will read them and whichever one of the two options proposed gets the most votes, I'll write the next episode. If there's a tie, I decide. I am the writer, after all.

Thanks for stopping by! If you do read this, please leave a comment as I love to interact with my readers.

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