Extraordinary happening when traveling alone

                      Extraordinary happenings when travelling alone.

I sat there at the head of the table. I was about to say grace and quickly realized in our family this touching act was a thing of the past. In fact even in my childhood my parents relegated grace saying to past traditions. At that moment it did cross my mind that many commendable and worthy traditions were being shelved in the world’s leap forward to explore and institute new standards of living. In front of me at the other end of the table was my wife, two young teenage daughters on my left. The youngest member of the family, a son six years old on my right with one empty space for another son away at boarding school. As the meal began I told my children my plans for next week. 

“After a discussion with your mother I am going to Seville next week for five days, from Wednesday to Sunday. I have had a particularly difficult month at work and I am in need of a few days rest and hopefully a bit of sun. I suggested your mother come with me but she has some important engagements next week. I will be back for dinner next Sunday with tales of my adventures in Seville.”

At this point my wife interjected and said. “ Is odd to think, but since we have been married you have never been on holiday without me and the children. I hope you will behave yourself”’.

“Yes, my darling, I am going to rest and study a few things. In fact I was thinking of going to a monastery. But I felt I wanted to walk where I could see splendid old buildings. My job as a trader spending hours in front of several computers is, no doubt, the reason for this desire”.

The following Wednesday I stepped on the plane to Seville. In the airport and now on the plane I kept looking around me for my wife and children. It was an odd feeling. Maybe travelling alone was not much fun. From birth I have been a shy and introverted character who finds it difficult just to flippantly strike up a conversation with a complete stranger. I comforted myself with the knowledge that I had two books relating to work and a spy novel. It was an afternoon flight that would allow me to be at my hotel just before dinner. As I was sitting in first class I noticed an air of elitism where passengers respected the other passengers' right to privacy. 

That night I had dinner in the hotel restaurant I spent my time examining, at a discrete distance, the other diners trying to imagine where they came from and what brought them to Seville. I had a queer feeling of loneliness, gone where the family discussions of the menu, their laughter and disciplinary corrections. Hopefully I thought a good night's sleep would correct that.

The next morning I was blessed with the glorious sunny weather. Breakfast at the hotel. Dressed with a  hat and comfortable walking shoes tightly laced, I set out for a stroll through the city. It must have been around 11:00 o'clock when I sat down on the terrace of a cafe situated in a small square. I had bought an English paper and was enjoying reading about my country from a distance. Suddenly somebody sat at my table and I heard a voice say. “Are you English”?

I looked up from the paper and there was a man sitting opposite. He had a pleasant face, a mustache, a goat's beard and dark blue eyes. 

He was dressed in a light spring coat. I could not see the colour of his hair as he wore a trilby hat.

“Yes, why do you ask”’?

“I know we are complete strangers but could do me an enormous favor and guard this bag for a couple of hours”. At this point he lifted what appeared to be a half empty backpack and gently placed it onto the table.

 “Look I have no time to explain but I am being followed by two suspicious looking individuals. I will meet you at two o’clock in this same place to recover my bag. I will give you my visiting card and my identity card so that you will remember me”. He then stood up and placed the bag under my seat next to mine. As he left his last words were “Under no circumstances should you open the bag”. 

I just sat there stunned. It was hard to believe what had just happened. I looked at his card. It said he was a doctor and his identity card had the portrait of a man without a mustache and beard. This was crazy. I had no time to think about the situation any further as I saw two men entering the square that were clearly looking for somebody. I quickly picked up my paper. They went into the cafe. A minute later they came out and disappeared down a side street leading into the square. I just sat there wondering what I should do. Go to the police?

My first direct thought was to take a look at the bag. I reach down and pick it up. I certainly was not heavy. I noticed it had four medium sized holes near where the backpack closes. At that moment it gave me the shock of my life. Something inside the bag moved. I instantly dropped it and pushed it under the chair. 

My heart started violently beating from the quandary I felt. His visiting card could be a fake. His  identity card didn’t show a man with a mustache and goat’s beard. This was odd, but I suppose he could have grown face hairs at a later date. But why did he give me this card? The bag must contain some kind of animal. The thought of it being some kind of terrorist act seemed to be very slim. I looked at my watch. Just past midday. I decided to wait here for two hours and if he didn’t come back at the appointed time I would go to the police. I took up my paper again to finish a news article I was in the middle of reading. I then ordered a light lunch. 

At the stroke of two the morning's stranger a man now clean shaven was sitting at the other side of my table ordering a coffee. I immediately pulled out the identity card. 

He laughed and spoke in perfect English with a slight accent. I needed a disguise. The facial makeup belonged to the acting community. Let me explain. I have a six year old child. We recently went on holiday to Africa, two days after returning my daughter fell ill with a life threatening disease. Little is known in our Western countries about this illness. Fortunately I  have lived a few years practicing medicine in Africa. I know a cure if it is administered within 48 hours. The problem is it needs the poisonous venom of a particular snake mixed with a substance I have in my surgery. I can then inject the potion into my daughter. Yesterday I immediately called our zoo as I knew they had a specimen of the snake I needed.. They told me firmly that nothing could be organized until the director returns in three days. 

I decided late last night to go out to the zoo and temporarily steal the snake. The zoo is a few miles out of the city. I needed my car. Everything went fine until I exited the service exit with the snake in the backpack. Two men standing there suspiciously looked at me. As I started my car I saw in the rear mirror they were intending to follow me. Once I reached the city I immediately parked my car and made my way by foot towards my surgery. As I was getting close I realized I would have to temporarily get rid of the bag. I  saw you, a kind looking foreigner, definitely on holiday, sitting on the cafe terrace. I knew they were still somewhere behind me, I took a gamble and deposited the bag with you.

“It's certainly, if true, an extraordinary story. You can't fault me for having a little doubt. But how did you get into the snake's cage?”

“I agree it must seem bizarre to a tourist sitting quietly reading his paper having morning coffee asked by a complete stranger to look after his bag. To answer your question at the back of the cages there is a service passage with each cage having a sliding door.”

“What are you going to do now?”

“Go back immediately to my surgery and prepare the injection for my daughter.”

“Does taking out the snake's venom cause its death?’

“ No, I will try early tomorrow morning or the night after to return the snake to its cage. If I get caught, no doubt, I will get fined but there is no price for saving my child. My deepest thanks for being a temporary guardian of my bag. If you would like to see the snake it would be my pleasure to take you home as I only live a ten minute walk from here.”

“Thank you, I would be most interested. But I will leave you to carry the bag with the snake.”

Ten minutes later I was amazed by the doctor’s elegant and well equipped surgery. He extracted the snake from the bags like some professional snake charmer. It was of medium size with a fascinating pattern of colors on its skin. It had a large head when compared to its slime body, Its small piercing eyes made one feel this was some evil creature.  The extraction of its venom was like watching a surgeon on an operating table. He used very precise tools to hold the snake and make it bite into a tube allowing its poisonous venom to flow. He then added something and prepared a syringe for an injection. 

‘Come” he said. We will go upstairs to my apartment and inject my daughter. I was introduced to his wife and immediately I went with them to their daughter's bedroom. She certainly looked extremely ill. After the injection we stayed on for about five minutes talking in subdued voices before she fell asleep. I could see all the tension disappearing from the parents' faces. I never imagined I would witness such an emotionally filled scene. Minutes later we were sitting in their drawing room drinking a heavy dose of scotch. His wife asked my name, where I lived, if I had a family, why I had come to Saville, and what my profession was?. She then asked me if I was free tonight as they would like to invite me to Serviile’s opera house. “Thursday night is a performance of Flamingo, after the show we will dine. We cannot thank you enough. Where is your hotel? We will pick you up at 6.45 as the show starts at 7.30”. 

What a wonderful surprise. My hotel is Casa del poeta. I will be down in the lobby. 

The flamingo dancing was not only exhilarating, passionate and sexy, it swept an emotional blanket over the audience, they could not stop clapping. We sat in a private box with superb views. The dinner after was clearly in one of Seville’s top restaurants as the ambiance, food  and wine were excellent. They drove me back to my hotel. On the way I had the feeling that tonight had been one of those moments of exceptional pleasure you never forget. As we stood there hugging and kissing the doctor said. “On Saturday we have a long standing cocktail party planned at our apartment. We would be delighted if you stop by. It starts at 7.00. It will give you a chance to see a slice of Saville inhabitants and check up on how our daughter is progressing. 

The next morning I awoke late after a deep sleep. I called my wife to assure her I was still in the land of living and I would have some interesting stories to tell the family at Sunday night's dinner.  I finally spent the day alone, resting, visiting a couple of museums, sitting on a terrace having afternoon coffee. Seville is an elegant, well run Spanish town with plenty of attractions for tourists to see. From a selfish point of view, traveling alone has some charming aspects. No responsibilities, no time constraints, just pleasing yourself.

On Saturday I continued my leisurely exploration of Seville. In the evening I went to the doctor’s cocktail party. The party resembled something like a Fellini Film. Some of the characters present appeared larger than life. The women for the most part were overly made up; the men appeared dressed in the fashion of a 100 years ago. I was being introduced to a Seville not seen by tourists. While I was there I did see little Emma, the doctor’s daughter. She was sitting up in bed smiling. I felt very pleased as I had played a small part in her recovery. As I was leaving and saying my goodbyes, Katherine, the doctor's wife, told me she would write to me as my family might like to spend a few weeks with them next summer in their summer house on the beach. As I hugged the doctor he whispered in my ear. I put the snake back safely. 

I arrived  back just in time for dinner. As I took my place at the head of the table I saw eight bright, expectant eyes awaiting the story of what they supposed was my lonely travels to Seville.

“ Before I tell you of my adventures in Seville I would first like to say grace”.

David Nutt                                                                                January 2025