There is a strong possibility that his intentions were not to kidnap me and sell me to some Albanian mobster, but I have decided you can never be too cautious. If his intentions were in fact evil, I am proud that I outsmarted his system of luring ignorant tourists. However, I am still frightened when I think that I considered, for even a second, going out alone with him. If we had met for coffee down the street from my apartment, he would have known where I lived. Before seeing Taken, that issue did not even cross my mind. What if Francesco had showed up outside our apartment with a group of big mobsters waiting in the alley?
Today I am very thankful that, for whatever reason, Francesco stopped talking to me. I still love to travel and have visited seven other European countries since my time in Italy. However, my priorities have matured past hoping to have some short-lived fling. Even if Francesco wasn’t trying to “take me away,” he obviously had some other intentions in mind. I would rather enjoy experiences that I will live to tell instead of taking my chances just because a guy is cute. From now on, flying across the ocean will be a big enough risk for me and I will never question my instinct for caution again.
I would encourage everyone to see Pierre Morel’s film, Taken, starring Liam Neeson. While the drama is exaggerated for entertainment, it will at least frighten you enough to be extra cautious while traveling abroad.
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