That One Night I Thought I was Gonna Get Abducted in Scotland
You know that scene in a movie where a stranger approaches someone, offers something nice to him and he accepted his offer but then he ends up being abducted?
It was the night after 2015’s new year’s eve in Edinburgh. Most of the shops were closed and it was raining lightly. I was on the street downtown (can’t remember which area it was), spending sometime strolling around while finding my way to the coach (bus) station. I had bought a ticket to Glasgow to stay one more day before going back to Liverpool, and I still got some time free before my departure time. So I was at an intersection, thinking which way to go, pretty sure I looked confused, and then this man approached, asking where I was going. He looked like 60 something year old. I was 29.
We went walking in the same direction while having some conversation. It turned out he knew a lot about my home country. He knew about our first president and followed the news about plane crash in my country at that time (Air Asia from Surabaya to Singapore). I found it to be an interesting discussion so that when he asked whether I was willing to continue the conversation in some place, I said I didn’t mind. We went to a pub nearby. Many of the pubs were still closed for the new year, so this pub that we went to was crowded. And there was also a sport match on TV, so there were guys shouting behind us. He told me something that I found a bit strange. He said that the way I was holding my Coke can was different. As someone who didn’t have the ability to understand social cues, I didn’t know what to think other than that this man was very observant. Also, I knew that Britain, especially Scotland, is a country that embraces quirkiness so, I didn’t think anything suspicious (was he trying to flirt with me?I would never know).
Anyway, he suggested us to come to his house. It was just too noisy and uncomfortable to have a nice chat it that pub. He promised to drive me to the coach station later on. I was thinking, this is interesting. Getting invited to a local’s house. It wouldn’t have been the first time for me as a traveler, so, yeah, I said okay.
I should have been more careful in my thinking. I mean, it was dark and still raining a bit, and it was a rather quiet neighbourhood. Bad thoughts started to come into my mind: what if he had other intentions with me, or maybe he thought that me saying yes to his invitation meant something else, was he going to abduct me, or worse, was he a serial killer?was I gonna come back not as a person but as the headline on the news?
I think I watched too much CSI.
His place was this beautiful Georgian house, full of vintage furnitures and books. And there was a fireplace near the dining room. Oh it was a very nice house — and I couldn’t find anything suspicious. I realised that maybe I had one of my wish came true by being inside a house that you used to see on British films since I was a kid. He made me a cup of tea, and we continued our chat by sitting near the fireplace. Among the topics of our conversation, I remember he asked me about stuff that maybe a bit too personal to most people when they talk to someone the first time — about God, faith, sexuality (once again, was he trying to flirt with me?) — but, I don’t know, I knew that I wasn’t like most people, so maybe he was also different just like me, so I was okay with his questions. Or maybe I was just too conservative?I don’t know.
The time was up and I had to leave. He kept his promise to drove me to the station. I took his phone number just in case I could see him again next time I visit Edinburgh — and in fact I did, twice.
It’s crazy when I think about it. It was a strange encounter with a stranger who I found to be a bit strange. If I wasn’t used to traveling solo, I might have refused his offer, afraid that this man would do some harm to me. It turned to be one of my best experiences from living abroad so far.
