I had to return mid-afternoon to Victoria’s home since my muscles now officially felt like limp noodles. It was hard enough making the trek back as I desperately clung onto my staff for fear of losing it. I truly regretted not bringing my money pouch with me as I would have loved to take back one of the carriages. Not that I could currently afford it with my severely depleted funds.
Hah! One of the many lessons I’ve learned in life, is that frequently before and after making important expensive purchases, one must make many sacrifices. Were it not for the occasional pulses of energy I felt transferring between myself and the staff, I might have been heavily questioning my financial sacrifice at this moment.
My inner musings and fatigued mind hardly took notice as someone called out to me. However, as they spoke again, I recognized that they were speaking to me.
“Hey Youngin!” The voice called out. “Do you be wanting a ride to the marketplace?”
No sweeter words could be spoken at that moment. Turning my head to see who was speaking to me, I saw a hitched buggy carrying what looked like some early season crops. The driver guiding his horses had curved horns sprouting from his head and hairy goat like legs. He looked markedly like a Satyr from fantasy depictions back home.
“Yes Sir!” I replied as exuberantly as I could.
Scooting over on the front bench to allow me more space, he then reached out a hand to assist me in getting up into the higher seat.
“Oh my goodness.” I exclaimed with wearily gratitude. “I really appreciate you offering the ride.”
“Haha!” Laughing with good humor he replied. “To be honest, you looked like you were about ready to pass out. Are you from around these here parts?”
“Oh yes, well kind of.” I replied. “I’m a Traveler, yet also the apothecary Victoria’s apprentice.”
“Ooooh! Well, I’m more than happy to give aid to a stranger, but more so the apprentice of the apothecary. She’s done us city folk and farmers a lot of good.” If’n you don’t mind me asking, were ye out gathering herbs or something?” He then eyed the pickax tied to the top of my carry pack. “I couldn’t help but notice that ye got mining equipment with ya.”
*Sigh* “Yeah, I mean no, I wasn’t gathering herbs. I was working on a side project that had to do with excavation.” I didn’t volunteer more than that, as I wasn’t sure if Monroe wanted others to be aware of the cave.
“Huh. Well, rides gonna still take a while. Do you have any stories about where you are from? I find makin talk tends to make the time fly faster.”
I thought for a while trying to find something that the Satyr like man might consider interesting. Then it hit me. A situation that I personally experienced, which was quite similar to my hitching a ride right now.
Speaking up I began. “Well funny enough that you ask for a story. I have one actually having to do with giving a ride back from my world.”
Seeing him give me a look of true interest, I then began the story, trying to use terms that he would better understand. “In my world, there are many areas and lifestyles where hitchhiking or catching a ride with a complete stranger, is considered common place and the norm. In certain other areas, it is either unwise, unsafe, or looked down upon.”
“Hmmm.” The satyr nodded in understanding.
Seeing his response, I continued my story. “I was placed into an uncomfortable situation related to work as a transporter of sorts in one of those later areas. We had to leave our vehicles or carriages as you might call them, at the place of primary business for routine maintenance. I was unable at that time to set up another ride to get back home.”
I grimaced in personal memory of the experience before further explaining. “As such, due to an expected two plus hour walk to get home verses a much shorter carriage ride, I for the first time in my life, raised my thumb up in the well-known symbol for desiring to get a ride from a considerate stranger.”
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
I held my thumb up to show him what it looked like. The satyr gave my hand a look of intrigue before commenting. “That’s about what we do here as well.” Looking down at his own hands, he paused before adding. “Admittedly, there are some who cannot make that sign and resort to just holding their entire hand up. In any case, I’d like to hear the remainder of your story, what happened next?”
At his request, I continued. “It wasn’t long, as I began my long trek back home, before a considerate stranger pulled over and invited me to join them and be driven to my destination. They had a large back carriage separate from the front, which I offered to sit in, but they were adamant to have me sit up front with them. The stranger was a middle-aged woman who admitted to it being her first time in picking up a stranger. Overall, the whole situation was very awkward for both of us for much of the first half of the ride. The driver wielded a sharp writing implement in her right hand, comparable to a small dagger, within easy stabbing distance in the off chance that I proved to be an unsafe riding companion. Later, as we spoke, she began to feel more relaxed and trusting of my presence and she put the sharp object down.
Nodding his head sagely the satyr again commented. “Aye, I can appreciate her being careful. I meself would’ve had her nice an relaxed much earlier.” His eyes wagged before adding. “I can be quite the ladies’ man if I do say so meself.”
I looked away to hide the rolling of my eyes at his brazen hubris.
.
.
.
To break the awkward silence that occurred with his proclamation, I returned to sharing my story. “For me, the ride had been a bit strained and awkward, yet I was still very grateful for her consideration that saved me a couple hours of walking. It wasn’t what happened then, that I found interesting, but what happened after, that still makes me grimace to this day.”
My eyes took on a faraway look as I sought to recall the relevant details of what had transpired. “Following that little adventure about a year later, I was driving my own carriage, and I saw an elderly grandmother looking lady standing on the side of the road with her thumb up in the sign asking for a ride. At that point, I was feeling glad to have the opportunity to pay the favor forward, especially to someone who looked completely harmless and safe. As I pulled over to invite her in, she was very quick and spry for someone of her age, as I was barely able to get my hand out of the way before she sat down next to me in the front of the carriage.”
Thinking back, she had very nearly sat on my had as I was drawing it back after reaching across to open the passenger door from the inside.
“As she settled in, I was about to ask her where she needed to go, when instead, she asked me in an attempted seductive tone, ‘Soooo, where do you want to go?’ Needless to say, I was appalled. I had simply believed that she was someone’s grandmother who needed a ride, when in fact, she was a prostitute plying her aged wares. Confusion and horror must have shone on my face as she realized our joint error. I was quick to clarify the situation and then she confirmed that no, she was not requesting a ride anywhere. This was certainly Not the favor that I had thought I was paying forward.”
“She then said. ‘Well just let me out over here as you are wasting away my time that I would be picking up a client.’ I was more than happy to get her out of my carriage. After that, I never sought to pick up another hitchhiker.”
“Hahaha!” The Satyr let out a kind of bleating laughter as he truly got a kick out of my story recollection. Then he gave me a side long glance again waggling his eyebrows in mirth before asking. “So, yer sayin that she didn’t have yer fancy?”
My response was an emphatic “No!”
“Hahahaha!” This set him off even harder as he slapped his thigh in mirth. Then with a humor-tinged voice he added. “Well youngin, some of us can enjoy the wiles of an aged maiden.”
My mind unwillingly wandered back to that memory of the heavily wrinkled and hard-bitten woman, and I shivered in abject denial.
Seeing my continued denial, the driver simply added. “Well, it’s not for everone, but I’ve found myself enjoin the company of both the young and the elder.”
I groaned as he continued on with an excited expression to describe the perks that each offered when it comes to sexual excitement. I looked away again as I rolled my eyes at his proclaimed exploits. I guess that for him as he was a goat man, if he had anything in common with actual goats, this would be it. Those creatures, particularly males are literally and figuratively horny beyond belief, sometimes forgetting even to eat in search of a frequent willing partner throughout the mating season.
I was truly rethinking my acceptance of getting on his carriage as we continued on our way. Weighing the pros and cons of getting off before our destination, I decided that unfortunately propriety required that I stay and entertain this goat-man who was kind and gracious enough to drive me along. I would just take it as a lesson learned in bringing my money to have a private or shared carriage with a silent or quieter driver and passenger in the future.
For now, I simply had to suffer the exuberant reminiscing of his sexual exploitations with various aged and demi-human woman. This was worse than hearing about the 22nd retelling of war stories from an elderly resident in the nursing home. I knew, since I had experienced that before.
Arrival at the marketplace couldn’t happen soon enough. As soon as we got remotely close to Victoria’s shop, I stepped off the carriage, gave my profuse thanks verbally, while mentally affirming to myself to never again accept a free ride from that goat-man.
I know that making such a decision could be considered as making an unfair and early judgment. This was especially since it was only based off of a one-time experience. However, I was perfectly fine with failing a social taboo, if it meant reducing the chance of ever experiencing that regaling of sexual exploits by a friendly but too horny goat-man. Some things you just don’t want to repeat, no matter the inconvenient cost.
Once back in the shop, other than a passing and giving a respectful hello to my master, I made a straight line for the shower and a change of clothes. Although the ride most of the way back allowed the majority of my aches and soreness to resolve from a notable throbbing to a kind of numb weakness, I was more than ready to retire for the night. Not even bothering to bring my staff down from my room after the shower, I trudged down the stairs to join Victoria for a quick dinner.
As she took in my expression of listless exhaustion, she must have felt some pity. “As today you apparently overworked yourself in helping out Monroe, I will excuse your studying in the apothecary book. In the future however, when you are once again up to the task, I want you to study the three pages of plants prior to the cave excavation. I numbly nodded my head before thanking her for the meal, her leniency, and then I retired to bed.
Laying there with the mild throbbing coming back in my moment of relaxation, I let my mind wander in nonsensical circles until sleep took ahold of me, and I fell fast asleep.