A few blocks away, I find a bank with an ATM and try again. While it spits out the money, a tear trickles down my face.
Maybe the bad luck is behind me.
46
Daniela
When I arrive at the port, I wander aimlessly for a few minutes. It’s almost eleven thirty, and there are more people milling around than I expected. Although I don’t know why I had any expectations. I’ve been here only a couple of times as a child. And only to the area with the cruise ships, never to the working section of the docks.
“Can I help you?” a security guard asks.
I draw a large breath.Here we go.“I’m looking to purchase a ticket for a trip on a cargo ship.”
“Vacation?” he asks, sizing me up.
“Yes.” I smile brightly.
“Where you headed?”
“Somewhere warm, I hope. Although I read it’s best to be flexible if you’re catching a ride on a freighter.”
“Those tickets have to be bought in advance,” he says with a wrinkled brow. “You can’t just come down here and hop on a ship. We don’t allow it. What if you were a terrorist?”
“I’m not a terrorist. Or a criminal of any kind,” I assure him.
“No exceptions.”
I’ve come too far now to let a security guard stand in my way. I swallow hard.
“I understand. Do you mind if I walk around a bit to get the lay of the land? I’ll come back tomorrow and purchase a ticket for some time in the future.”
“I’m not going to stop you from walking around. Just don’t wander into any restricted areas. And I wouldn’t go too much beyond that red light.” He points to a light on a warehouse along the pier, some distance away. “It starts to get dangerous when you get too much past that point. Unsavory characters.”
No shortage of unsavory characters in the world. Some of them live in castles.
Without another word, he walks away to harangue a couple kissing on a bench.
What am I going to do now? If I can’t get on a freighter, I’m screwed. Even the train requires papers or a passport.
“Hey.”
I glance up, and a young man is leaning against a pole a few feet away.He’s talking to me.When I don’t acknowledge him, he beckons with two fingers. But I don’t move.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he says, walking toward me.
Unlike the man in the convenience store, this guy doesn’t seem very menacing. He has a baby face, and even the leather jacket and baggy jeans can’t hide his scrawny frame.
“I heard you talking to the guard.” He holds out a bag of croquettes. I’m starving, but I shake my head. “You sure? They’re not warm anymore, but they’re delicious.”
He’s not going to poison you. What about date-rape drugs? Are they just for drinks, or can they go into food too? I’m not taking any chances.
“They look scrumptious, but no thank you.”
He nods and takes a bite, and for a second I wonder why he came over to talk to me. “I need to go.” I turn and start to walk away.
“If you want to get on a ship, I can help you.”
I stop in my tracks and take a breath before stepping toward him. “You know of a cargo ship that carries vacationing passengers?”