When Samira buys a secondhand car at a dealership, she thinks it a victory because it was something she had done all by herself.<\/p>\n
But the next morning, the mysterious previous owner of the car calls her, claiming that he left something \u201calive\u201d under the seat of the car.<\/p>\n
Will Samira meet him or uncover the secret package by herself? When I first bought my car, it was supposed to be a small victory. I had left my corporate job to take time off to write my collection of short stories.<\/p>\n
So, I didn\u2019t want to splurge my savings until something big came my way financially.It was nothing fancy, just a used Toyota Corolla from the local dealership. The thrill of owning it was enough to make me overlook any thoughts about its previous owner. Whoever they were,<\/p>\n
they were in my past, and I was cruising straight into my future.<\/p>\n
Or so I thought. But then came that random phone call which changed everything.<\/p>\n
It was early, around 7 a.m., and I was in the middle of making my morning coffee when my phone buzzed with an unknown number.An angle of a car | Source: Midjourney Normally, I\u2019d ignore it, but something about early morning and late-night unknown calls made me answer. I didn\u2019t know if someone needed me.<\/p>\n
I said, yawning. \u201cHi, is this the new owner of the Toyota Corolla?\u201d a man asked, anxiety in his voice.\u201cYes, this is her. Who\u2019s speaking?\u201d I asked, suddenly feeling uneasy.A woman looking at her phone | Source: Midjourney He took a deep breath. \u201cOh, thank goodness! I\u2019m so sorry to bother you, but I need your help.<\/p>\n
I was the previous owner of the car, and I left something under the seat of the car when I gave it in yesterday morning. You picked it up yesterday, yes?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d I replied, confused about what he was getting at.\u201cOkay. Good,\u201d he paused. \u201cI need to get my hands on what I left behind. It\u2019s really important.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s urgent, really.\u201d What on earth could be so important that he would track me down like this? Was the dealership even allowed to give out personal information? \u201cWhat did you leave?\u201d I asked, trying to stay calm.\u201cIt\u2019s something\u2026 alive,\u201d he stammered. \u201cPlease, ma\u2019am, I need to come and get it as soon as possible. I promise you, I\u2019ll explain when I see you.\u201d I remained silent for a moment. Alive? The word echoed loudly in my mind. Was this man serious? What alive thing could possibly be in the car? My mind raced between a baby to a dog to even a package of narcotics that he was brushing off as something alive.But I knew that I would have noticed something like that. \u201cDo you want to meet me somewhere or give me your address?\u201d he continued. I should have probably said no to all of the above.<\/p>\n
But there was something about him and the panic in his voice that made me hesitate to say no.\u201cOkay,\u201d I finally said, my voice more firm than I felt. \u201cCome over to my neighborhood. There\u2019s a park not too far away from where I live. I\u2019ll meet you there. I\u2019ll send the address to this number.\u201d \u201cThat\u2019s perfect,\u201d he said, sighing in relief. \u201cDon\u2019t worry, it\u2019s contained for now.\u201d I hung up and stared at my phone.\u201cWhat are you doing, Samira?\u201d I asked myself. \u201cAre you really going to meet a random person?\u201d But, what would be alive under my seat?<\/p>\n
My thoughts darted to worse-case scenarios again. What if it was a dangerous animal? I had no idea what to expect, and that\u2019s what made me nervous. Twenty minutes later, I was standing next to the Corolla in the cool morning air, waiting for the mysterious stranger to show up.The neighborhood was still quiet, and I imagined everyone in their homes slowly waking up or making breakfast for their families. Finally, a man pulled up in an old pickup truck, just as he had texted me to say he would. His eyes scanned the area nervously before landing on me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m Ben,\u201d he said. \u201cThank you for letting me come.\u201dHe was younger than I imagined, and probably in his late twenties like myself, with dark hair that looked like he\u2019d run his hands through it one too many times. There was something endearing about his disheveled appearance, though I could tell he was genuinely worried. Stop it, Samira, I told myself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a pet gecko at home, and I feed it live insects every day. Yesterday, I stopped at the pet store to pick up some food, including mealworms and roaches, but I must have left the box under the seat when I was unloading the car.\u201d It took a moment for his words to register with me. \u201cYou left a box of live insects under the seat?\u201d I asked.\u201cNot by choice,\u201d he replied sheepishly. \u201cI was late to hand over the car as well.<\/p>\n
So the moment I unloaded everything else at home, I rushed over to the dealership to leave the car\u2026 for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re lucky that they didn\u2019t escape,\u201d I said. Suddenly, a laugh bubbled up inside me before I could stop it, and once it started, it was hard to stop. He looked at me, confused for a second, before a grin spread across his face.\u201cI know, it\u2019s ridiculous, right?\u201d he said. \u201cI was so freaked out that I couldn\u2019t even sleep. I kept imagining them crawling around your car, and I just\u2026\u201d \u201cMy goodness,\u201d I exclaimed. \u201cThat would have been quite the surprise.\u201d The thought of driving around with a box full of escaped bugs lurking somewhere under the seat was both horrifying and hilarious.\u201cI\u2019m really sorry, Samira,\u201d he said, his grin fading into something more genuine. \u201cI didn\u2019t mean to scare you. I just didn\u2019t know what else to do. The gecko, Samson, is actually my little brother\u2019s pet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When Samira buys a secondhand car at a dealership, she thinks it a victory because it was something she had done all by herself. But the next morning, the mysterious previous owner of the car calls her, claiming that he left something \u201calive\u201d under the seat of the car. Will Samira meet him or uncover […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":465,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n