Three Lost Girls

      Two weeks after three friends graduated from the same college in Toronto, they met in a local bar near where they all lived, and Julie, the natural leader of their small yet closely knit group, declared that it was now time to experience life.

"After four long and incredibly boring years my friends" she loudly cried " We will now find out what is truly out there waiting for us!"

"And how will we do that" asked Darlene.

"By doing what we've always talked about all these years" replied Julie.

"What have we always talked about other than boys, boys and more boys?" asked Debbie

If Julie was the leader of the group then Debbie was certainly the realist and the one to earliest point out any flaw in any plan they were conceiving. Tall and slim, she was not as sexy as the others but what she lacked in beauty she made up for in her keen intellect.

Darlene, the quietest and most demure of the trio was the unofficial beauty and romance expert, being their best looking member. Tall and elegant, with a lovely figure, made her one of their college's most sought after ladies.

"We're going to Europe!" announced Julie

"And who's going to pay for this grand adventure of yours, dear friend? asked Debbie.

"Our car is our ticket to freedom!" said Julie.

"You want to drive to Europe?" asked Darlene "Is that possible?"

"Oh for God's sake Darlene, can you be serious for once" said Julie "Of course we can't drive to Europe. We'll sell it and use the money we get for it plus our savings and we'll go see the world. Or at least a part of it".

The three had bought a car with their combined savings a couple years earlier and were fortunate enough in their automobile ignorance to have stumbled upon and subsequently purchased a 1969 fast back Mustang. it was now worth far more than they had paid for it and they had received numerous offers to sell it.

Two weeks after the day they sold the Mustang, they pooled their money, and met at a local travel agency. There they sat, under the ubiquitous King Tut poster, and told the travel agent exactly how much they had to spend and what they would like to do as they spent that hard earned money of theirs. An hour and a half later they stood in a proud little group and went over their new travel and accommodation details.They would travel July 23rd from Toronto's Pearson Airport to Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport and from there until six weeks hence they would travel to Paris and onward from there. Paris was to Darlene, a place of romance and intrigue, To Debbie it was the history and the museums. To Julie, Paris seemed like a good place to start their journey.

The taxi pulled up to take the three girls to the airport in the late morning of July 23rd, 2014. They all gave cupcake, the neighbors Shitsu, one last hug and kiss before climbing into the taxi to the airport.

The flight was uneventful and they slept the entire flight,arriving fresh and excited in the early morning sunshine of Paris. One taxi ride away from their small quiet hotel and they were all snug inside a pleasant little room chatting excitedly about their next step in this new journey of theirs.

They agreed to meet for lunch after a shower and a change of clothing. A little while later they were walking side by side in twos as they made their way to a quaint little cafe overlooking the Seine. A grand statue nearby of a soldier clad in a full plate of armor pointed the way to the river down below them.

A black Citroen sedan pulled up to them as they strolled along and the driver stuck his head out the window and asked in heavily accented English if they knew where he could find a hotel nearby. They gave him directions to their new lodgings, adding that it was a lovely little hotel with clean amenities. Thanking them profusely for their kindness he asked them if he could give them a lift anywhere. They all chimed in unison that they were OK but thanked him just the same. He gave a last wave of thanks and went to start his car, only to find that he had a dead battery.

The three girls stayed with him chatting about Paris and what it had to offer and such until a white Ford van pulled up to help him fix to start his car.

"Where are you from sir?" asked Darlene, who sat on a nearby bench, crossing her long legs and showing her thighs to their fullest.

"I am Palastinian". he replied. "My name is Ahmed and I am from Palestine. Perhaps you have heard of the troubles we have had with our Jewish neighbors? But enough about them!. Where are you going from here?" The museum I hope!"

"Yes of course we plan to visit it as soon as we can" said Debbie.

"Wonderful" said Ahmed. " I am going there directly from here to the museum to meet my colleagues from Cairo.". he added. "Would you care to accept a lift from me or my friends who are on their way here now to help me with my car?"

They all accepted the offer, in unison once again,

The help arrived within a couple minutes and the girls were a bit taken aback by the looks of these friends of Ahmed's. They told Ahmed after only a minute or so of investigation that the Citroen was going nowhere but they would be pleased to deliver him and his friends to wherever it was they wanted to go.

Somewhat reluctantly, they climbed into the white Ford van and they drove away into the midday Parisian sunlight.

Never to be seen again.




Word Count 992