The other day my husband went to pump ngv (natual gas) in a local petrol station. He fixed up the contraption and went to the rest room. I quickly locked all the doors and looked around. There was a rather beat up van with a huge family. Dad had on a jubah (a long dark gown covering arms, legs) and a head covering like the middle eastern man. Both women were covered from head to toes with different pieces of dull color materials. There were five children ranged from age 1 to about 6. One of the younger woman had an infant in her arms.
When they finished pumping the gas, they trooped into the van and wanted to back out. However, there was a MPV (Multi purpose vehicle) blocking it. The van driver waited a while, thinking the other driver would pull away momentarily. What the van folks could not see was that the driver was talking on his hand phone behind his vehicle. I was a lone spectator with a grand stand view watching the proceeding.
The van driver was getting a little upset, he started sounding the horn. After about five beeps, the MPV driver was still oblivious to the van driver's impatience. Just as the poor man leaned on his horn, another MPV with the same make and color drove in. It looked like the incoming driver sized up the situation and told the first driver to move his vehicle on the phone. I saw the first driver turned and noticed the irate driver and van. He put up his left hand, proceeded to end his phone call; pocketed his flashy phone and moved to back his vehicle out of the way.
By then, my husband had returned from the rest room. He pulled out the pump connection and we also need ed to move as there was another car waiting for our bay. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the van departed. The two identical MPV with number plates from two different states of my country were parked closely together. It looked very much like a Hollywood thriller. All that was missing was a few FBI agents with guns. As the windows of both the vehicles was reflective, I could not see if anyone was in either vehicle. I saw the first MPV driver because he came out to make or answer a hand phone call. I know there is at least one person driving the second MPV. I did not watch the drama unfold as my husband needed to rush to another appointment. As to why they chose to meet in a quite out of the way petrol station, I have wondered to this day.
One possibility could be that they met to transfer something or someone. I just came home from my sister's house. My niece is about to own a car and start a new job. I thought of this incident and related it to her. She guessed rightly that it would not be safe to be in the vicinity of such exchanges. Should it be some illegal transaction, anything that could possibly go wrong may lead to gun shots. The best policy for a normal citizen is to leave as soon as possible without making any waves.
Now, just five years ago, I would not have advised my niece this way. Things have changed tremendously these past five to six years. It is still safe to travel around alone, but one has to be alert and smart about it.
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