Chapter 5: This is not the bus station!

 Well folks, I am at a place that has many shops, but no buses. The taxi driver took me to the mall, after he drove me around in circles, until I made one hundred Lev worth of a taxi fare.

I paid him fifty Euro, and he was happy with that. Now, I am before a tourist's trap. Seeing as I am already here, I might as well go and do some shopping. I can't go anywhere in the Algerian village clothing that I have been wearing since I stole them from those women. 

Did he wash the clothes? I am beginning to think a bit more highly of him. - killyourself89.

Yes, I washed the clothes. Dried them on a tree, and then put them on. People are giving me weird looks around here. They are wearing single color palette clothes. Nothing like my multicolored ones. I smile at them, as I pass. I really lucked out that there were clothes my size in the hampers, back then. 

Going into the nearest clothing store, I went to the men's section. What greeted me there were jeans, and dress shirts. Did I mention that Bulgarians really like to dress up? They do. Taking the time to go through the rack, and get the clothes that look around my size, I then search for a dressing room. 

All the ones at the end of the store seem taken. That is ok, I can wait. So, there I stand, with the clothes in my hands, waiting for someone to get out of at least one of the cabins. 

A woman comes over, wearing a name tag that has Cyrillic letters on it. Probably her name, but I can't read it. 

"I am sorry, can we speak in either English or German?" I ask her, and then hold up the clothes I picked. "I would like to try these." 

"Why don't you go over there, and get in one of the cabins, then? Just pull away the curtain," she looks annoyed at me, and I tilt my head to the side, to take a good look at the cabins. 

"But they are taken?" I begin to protest, but she just walks to the nearest cabin, and pulls up the curtain. There is no one inside. I feel like the biggest fool in the history of fools. 

"Right, sorry," I murmur, and get inside the cabin. The clothes fit, and I figure that I can afford them. If I can judge by the taxi driver, fifty Euro is 100 Lev. That is about as much as the clothes are worth. I take them to the front, and smile at the cashier. 

"I would like to buy them," I say, and then pull out my money. She packs them for me, and then slips me a pamphlet. It is written in English, and I decide that I can check it out later. We part ways, and I am lucky that I can pay in Euro in here. I guess that would be a problem, in smaller cities. But not in Sofia. 

Going out, I find a bench, and take out the pamphlet. It is a hotel advertisement. Thanking the cashier in my mind, I check the prices for the rooms. Then, I gulp. No, I won't be sleeping in there. If I do, I won't have enough for a bus ticket. How much is a bus ticket, anyway? I really need to get to the bus station. 

After a bit of searching, I find the restrooms. I need to pay to enter, and the cleaning staff give me the coin I must put in the machine, in exchange for a Euro. She gives me another coin, with that one, and I decide to keep it as a souvenir. There is a one on the coin, so I figure it is one Lev? 

Anyway, I dress up, and wash up, both my face and hands, as good as I can with the liquid soap on offer. Then, for good measure, I take some of the paper towels that are in the dispenser for later, and hide them in my pocket. 

He went full local.

Killyourself89 proclaims, and I just sigh. I didn't know that this is what the locals did, but ok. The taxi driver outside the mall actually gets me to a bus station, and I go inside.

There is one small problem, though. Everything is written in Bulgarian. I stand rooted and look around myself, trying to get a whiff of English from somewhere. 

Deciding that there is no other way, but to annoy people, I went to one of the booths, and smiled at the woman in the cabin. 

"Hello, I want a ticket to Germany," I tell her, and she yells:

"Krisi," and a woman appears. She is all smiles, when she comes to me. 

"Yes? Do you need help?" This Krisi asks. Is it her name even, or just a way for the locals to call the translators? I nod at her. 

"Yes, I need a ticket to Germany, any town will do," I say, and she motions me to follow her. We end up at the far end of the bus station, where there is a booth with English letters on it.

Krisi, I am fairly certain that is a pet name, stands by me, and then knocks on the glass. The woman in the cabin is not like Krisi. She is all frowns, and stormy clouds. 

They speak about something in Bulgarian, the woman in the booth begins to snicker, and I grow uncomfortable. Still, she types some things in her computer, and then hands me a receipt. I see the number at the bottom, and hand her the money that is written there. She clicks her tongue, and hands me over currency that I don't recognize.

"These are Lev," Krisi tells me, and then smiles her charming smile at me. If I wasn't gay, I would totally buy her a coffee. "They are used only in Bulgaria. Better spend them in the station. Go and buy yourself something." 

With that, she waved at me, and was off. The glass of the cabin of the stormy woman closed with a crash, and I was left standing there, without further instructions. 

I bet he will miss his bus because he doesn't know where to wait for it. 

Killyourself89 states, as I look over the ticket for clues. It is in Bulgarian, and I am beginning to worry.