📸 Photo

RICARDO

ing to me in Spanish. I only understood the word ‘gringo’, but it was obvious they wanted money.

‘I don’t have any,’ I said, patting my clothes. Luckily, I was wearing some old, loose-fitting pyjamas with no pockets that Ricardo had loaned me, so they could see I wasn’t lying. The two looked at each other and there was a brief exchange. I could tell by their facial expressions that they had decided to let me go. The one against the wall nodded to me and jerked his head towards the door, saying something about giving them money later.

‘Gracias. Perdón,’ I managed to mumble as I slipped through the small gap they had created for me, trying not to brush against them. I fumbled to insert the key in the lock. It wouldn’t go in and I started panicking. It must have been Ricardo’s room key, so I shakily tried the other one, but that was the wrong one, too. Eventually, I got the first key to work. ‘Gracias,’ I said again as I hurried out of the bathroom. They stared after me without saying a word. Next time I would have to pay the toll.