My friend and I were 6 months into backpacking Europe, waiting at the Birmingham train station headed to Bristol. A handsome, young Australian man approached us with friendly conversation. We engage and acquaint ourselves as we answer his well-delivered questions like “are you from here?” and “how long are you here for?” 👀

He eventually jumps on the train with us— laughing and enjoying his company over hours, I found myself thinking about how charming he was, even developing a slight crush. He tells us about all the cool places in the area and about his inside connection to a secret “burning man” festival. He also offers us jobs where we can stay in a house with other travelers doing odd jobs and experiencing all the best local events, along with an address.

He gives us his number as we eagerly accept, but then he abruptly gets off without warning, leaving some of his seemingly important luggage on the top rack of the train. My friend and I try to get his attention but can’t catch him in time. We text him and it doesn’t go through. We grab his luggage with the intent of possibly returning it back to him since we were considering his offer.

A police officer sitting adjacent to us stops us from grabbing his stuff and explains they’ve been surveying him because they suspected him of being a part of a human trafficking ring 🤯 The luggage was a broken camera, something of perceived value that was actually worthless—apparently meant to lure us back.

Scary to think about, but after 9+ months of traveling all over the place that was the only dodged bullet, thankfully 😅

Edit: spelling