He drops me at a bus station and speeds away. I don’t know where I am or how to ask. Women, black-draped, cast sidelong glances at my shorts and T-shirt. “Bodrum?” Someone points to an idling bus. The driver’s gaze travels over my body. He mutters something, laughs. I shrink inside. An old woman, wider than she’s tall, barges up the aisle. She shouts, thrusts coins from my palm at him, and drags me to a seat. “Teşekkür ederim.” Thank you, my only phrase. She pats my hand as if to say, “You’re safe.” For the first time, I am.
Vanessa Couchman lives in France, writes novels and short stories, and is published in Five Minute Fiction, FlashFlood, FlashBack Fiction, Funny Pearls, Reflex Press, Sundial Magazine, and Writing Magazine, among others. Find Vanessa at vanessacouchmanwriter.com, on Twitter @Vanessainfrance, and on Instagram @vanessacouchman.