An Exercise In Trust

Had a bit of crisis on the way to Friday Prayers. I'd just parked in the HDB car park behind the mosque - conveniently close to the barrier at the exit to ensure a quick getaway - and was exchanging my work shoes for a pair of cheap flip-flops to walk to the back entrance of the masjid, when the strap on one of the flip-flops broke off, making it impossible to use. I had no choice but to make my way to prayers wearing my ordinary work shoes, which meant that I would have to leave them outside. It was difficult to shake off the horribly cynical thought that there was every chance somebody would decide to walk off with my shoes as a neat substitute for his own cheap pair of sandals. The fact that I needed to get quickly back to work after prayers in order to run a rehearsal for the musical created in my mind the worrisome picture of a barefoot director having to explain his lack of footwear to an amused cast, and the more I pictured this, the more likely it seemed that it would really happen.

In the event there was no need to worry. Whoever the somebody with nefarious intentions was he failed to materialise. My shoes turned to be happily exactly where I left them, and my faith in human nature was restored. (Though I have to confess I shot out the mosque as soon as the compulsory prayer was completed in order to not give that imaginary somebody time to casually slip on my shoes as if they were his own. I'm afraid there are limits to my trust in anybody's nature, when push comes to shove - and where footwear at Friday Prayers is concerned.)