Blog #111 (Solicit)

I love racism. 

(Hold on, bear with me.)

As I sat on my couch, in a towel buck naked, waiting for first light, I was reminded of a funny incident that took place last week. I was grocery shopping for a particular meal I had in mind. It was an Indian dish called Palak Paneer. It's made using spinach and cottage cheese. My hunt for this type of cheese brought across multiple supermarkets. I had to visit three locations in total before having to settle on ordering it online. It was very cheap, ironically, considering my hassle to find it proved to be rather pricey. 

My first thought was to target an Indian store (reliable). As I made my way across a familiar shopping mall, I realized I had a shadow. A most peculiar woman was following me. We made eye contact and I Covid-smiled at her as politely as possible. This brief interaction seemed to have emboldened her as she decided to approach me. 

Now, she was Chinese. She dressed like a European tourist, loose top and shorts with beach slippers and a straw hat to complete the look. The most interesting accessory though, was the book. She was holding a Yellow Pages book. For those of who have never had the good fortune of having a yellow pages book in your house, I hope this explanation helps. Prior to the internet, the yellow pages was a telephone directory that was used by businesses to advertise their contact information. It was immensely popular for its sheer mass and color. These books are not made any longer. 

This lady had one of the pages open, as if searching for a store. My brain goes, ''maybe she needs help looking for a particular store." I make eye contact with her again, in an attempt to ease her nervousness and let her approach me. The first sentence that leaves her mouth is, "You want massage?".

She repeated the phrase three times, as if to test whether I registered it or not. Here I thought I was helping out someone in need. Turns out, I was soliciting a sex worker. Apparently, she considered my interest in her as agreement to be begin conversation. And that's when it happened.