Searching for the mysterious woman

John and his Mother got out the car and walked into the bustling streets of the flea market, John took the lead as he began to guide his mother through the crowds to where the old woman's stall had been. As John walked he began to feel very self-conscious it seemed every where he looked people were checking him out. It wasn't just the guys checking him out either as John saw plenty of women that he would have considered out of his league, looking him over with approval. 'Damn I wish people looked at me this way when I was in my old body' John thought enjoying the attention.

Eventually John guided him and his mother to the side street where the woman had been, however as john walked down the empty street his heart caught in his chest, "No, no she was right here. Oh god she's gone what are we gonna do?" John began panicked about the prospect of never finding this woman. Sally trying her best to stay calm reassured her son "Maybe she's moved, stalls move all the time we just need to ask around", "yeah you're right" John said realising that panicking wasn't going to help them.

John and his mother asked random strangers and vendors alike if any of them had seen an old woman, but to no avail, either they hadn't seen her or guided them to a old woman who was not who they were looking for, John and his mother where sat on a bench eating lunch when John saw something that gave him hope. Opposite of the bench was a jewelry stall and on that stall John saw a simple silver pendant, but in the same hourglass shape of the charm. John bolted up, walking with deliberate purpose to the vendor. "Well what can I do for such a fine lady, you see something you like?" the man tending the stall said as John approached, "Yeah where did you get this charm?" John inquired. "Oh that, some old woman gave me it earlier said something about how fate said I needed to have it on my stall or something? She was crazy but the pendant is pretty nice don't you think?" He said, John would have normally scoffed at the idea of fate, but after the charm he was thinking there may be some merit to the idea and he was glad fate had given him this breadcrumb to follow. "Where can I find this woman?" John asked a sense of urgency to his sentence, "why do you want to know?" the vendor asked back. John froze up briefly he couldn't exactly tell him the truth that he needed to find her to talk to her about magical charms, "Well the pendant just looks so nice, I'd like to meet the creator" John lied, "well if you like the pendant so much why don't you buy it?" the vendor responded a sleazy smile plastering his face, "you buy it and I will tell you where to find her". John looked at the price the vendor was asking, it was very much a rip off, John didn't want to get scammed but he also needed this information, begrudgingly John paid the extortionate price and got his directions, he chose to put the pendant around his neck, he'd paid for it so he may as well wear it.

"What was that about?" Sally asked finishing her sandwich on the bench, "I just got us directions, and I'm confident they're good this time" John said. His mother shot up and pulled him in for a hug "That's my boy, I'm so proud of you" a few onlookers turned their heads in confusion at the young man calling the older woman a boy, "mum" John whispered in her ear "people are looking", "Oh right" Sally said breaking the hug, she would need to be more careful in future to not draw unwanted attention.

John guided his mother using the vendors directions to the tent on the outskirts of the flea market, except this wasn't a stall gazebo esque tent like they were expecting this was more a homeless persons tent barely reaching up to John's waist in height. "You have got to be kidding me" Sally said in disbelief as she and John stood in front of the dingy purple tent, "Outskirts of the flea market and she was in a purple tent" John replied reciting his directions, looking around there was no other purple tent "this must be it". John gently kicked the tent a couple of time to get the attention of whoever was inside, there was no response, "Ok I guess I'm going in" John said, "seriously" his mother said looking at the tent, "well yeah this is where she was, we need to find her" John said. Sally relented her son was right, "ok I'll keep watch", John slowly crouched down and unzipped the tent it was too dark to see anything inside 'weird' John thought as the thin material of the tent shouldn't be blacking out the light of the bright summers day. "hello" John called in gently, no response. Taking a deep breath John crawled in hoping no one was looking at him and his mother as it would be hard to explain why she was going into this shitty tent.