Escaping Christian

7: The Opportunity to Indulge

Strange Desire - The Black Keys

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I was right about the busy market stalls. Heck, I was right about the food. It was all amazing.

Everything here was so traditional, so incredible. At one point before I arrived in Egypt, I made it my goal to try and visit little towns like these. But after starting work, I realised I definitely wouldn't have had any time to do so.

Tipping my cap upward, I focused on the spices stall and smiled at the vendor. If I wasn't running away from a pack of vampires, I would be stocking up on this stuff like white on rice. But alas, that's not how it's written.

I sipped my coffee and weaved in and out of the people. It was barely 9am and everybody was out in full force. Families, sale merchant's shouting at another merchant. Kids running off to their daily chores or to the school down the road. There were no tourists, none.

Every corner I turned, there were more stalls, more scents to inhale, more people to watch. For a moment, I chose to forget about what I was, about my thirst and even Christian sleeping in the hostel I'd left an hour ago. I let the colours and smells hypnotise me. I indulged in the sweets and pastries I'd bought at the bakery and relaxed.

But it had to end at some point. Exhaling a short breath, I started to head back to the hostel. I could only imagine what Christian would think or even do when he saw I wasn't there. Which is why I bought him a few snacks and a coffee to butter him up a little. True to his word, he kept his hands to himself and practically remained stock still the entire night whereas - because I move like a dreaming dog in my sleep- I'd breached the pillow wall between us. I'd woken up on my back with my arm thrown out and the tips of my fingers touching his stupid side.

Smoothly bypassing a running child, I paused at a table filled with colourful scarves. The woman behind the stall offered me a few but I simply shook my head and carried on.

Well, I tried to carry on. An arm I recognised circled my shoulders, similar to when he did it in Cairo, and pulled me to his side. "Do I have to command you to stay by my side?"

"You could try it and you'll have to deal with me annoying the shit out of you." I smiled smugly glancing up at him. A droplet of water from his hair fell to my forehead. Well, he must not have been that worried, if he'd had time to take a damn shower. "Your choice, man."

The actual thought of it on his face made me chuckle. "Wise choice. And anyway, I came out to get you breakfast which," I pushed the fresh coffee toward the hand hanging over my shoulder and held up the plastic bag. "I did. Personally, I have a sweet tooth so I bought baklava, some cookies and just in case you weren't feeling any of the sweet things, just some fresh rolls."

Silently, he took the bag with his other hand and started strolling beside me. The corner of his mouth lifted and I gasped. "Is that a genuine smile I see? There is a God. Humour me, I bartered that down without compelling anybody too. Cost barely anything so don't try to yell a hole into me for using the money."

He shoved the baklava in his mouth and took a long sip of coffee. "Cheers."

"You're welcome."

He remained quiet so I continued to look from stall to stall, finishing my drink and shaking my head at the sellers when they tried to gesture me over. He looked too deep in thought to interrupt so we just walked beside one another in a comfortable silence.

"Speaking of compulsion," He said, finishing off his roll. "You haven't fed yet have you? Because that act of kindness couldn't have come from an empty stomach."