London Calling

I’m from the USA and got sent to England for my annual tour for the Air Force. We all got four days to do whatever we wanted. Being the ever-adventurous type, I hopped a bus to London for four days of spending way too much money.

Eventually, I ended up buying a pass for the London tube. I had never been on a train, much less an underground one, so I ended up hopelessly lost.

While I was trying to figure out where I was and how to get to the Churchill Bunkers, I decided to go up to the street to see if someone would be willing to give me some directions, or even just a map beyond the tubes.

The stairs were crowded, and a bunch of people were walking up the steps on both sides of the rail. I happened to be looking down when I saw a full wallet fall onto the steps.

I looked up in time to see said wallet’s owner keep walking up the steps and onto the busy sidewalk.

I ducked under the rail, full backpack and all, to snag the wallet before someone else grabbed it. Then, I proceeded to sprint up the steps and onto the sidewalk. I caught sight of the owner a few feet ahead of me and managed to grab her shoulder before we were separated by the crowd.

I slapped the wallet into her hand and I ran off into the crowd to catch my travel companion.

All I heard from the woman that I probably scared half to death was, “Oh, my God! That girl saved me!”

I didn’t stick around for the whole gushy thank-yous and long conversations. I was just glad that they didn’t have to panic over a lost wallet in crowded London.

I doubt they even knew what I looked like, just that some random person slapped their wallet into their hand and took off.

I did find my way to the bunkers, and it turns out I hopped off the train right in front of Big Ben.