Back at the hostel Tom packed his bags, which took him less than twenty minutes; after traveling for a few months, he had become quite efficient at it. He decided he would leave first thing in the morning. He lay in his bed feeling tired, but definitely less depressed, the coke withdrawal phase seemed to have passed. Lying in bed he tried to sort out his thoughts. He got lucky; he managed to get the money he needed to continue his trip, and do all those cool things he wanted to do at the coast. Sometime life is just good to you; he felt a warm fuzzy feeling lifting his spirit. Then he thought about Pablo, I guess there is really no easy money, he might have gotten lucky finding the coke stash, but converting it to money was not without its difficulties and risks. If he had to do it all over again, knowing the risks, he would choose otherwise. Then he thought about the orphanage, obviously life is not good to everybody; those kids lost their parents and home. They did find a good new home in that orphanage, but it seems their bad luck in life has caught up with then again. Now some of them will lose there home again; they will have to move to another bed in a crowded house, sharing it with teenagers with issues, definitely not the most ideal environment for them. And then something occurred to him; this time, unlike before, he had the ability to help them; he had about 1500$ he made from selling the coke, that money could solve the orphanage financial problems for a few months at least, by then Ian should be able to get them the funding they desperately needed. But he needed that money; without it he would not be able to do the things he wanted to do, he would be stuck in Bogotá for the remaining month of his trip. On the other hand it’s not like it was money he worked hard for a few month to earn, he pretty much found it on the street. Why was life lucky to him, and not those kids? Life was unfair. He really wanted to visit the coast, do the lost city 6 day hike, that he heard some much about, to dive in Taganga, to visit the Tayrona national park, to attend the famous carnival in Barranquilla (and he will need a lot of money for that, as hotel prices sky rocket during the carnival). But he wanted to help those kids at the orphanage as well. Maybe he could make a compromise between the two things? 500$ will probably cover the lost city trip, and in total allow him to spend a couple of weeks on the coast, and he might even be able to able to attend one day of the carnival. He would have to give up the diving and be very careful with his spending. But that would leave him with 1000$ he could give to the orphanage. He won’t tell Ian though where the money really came from; he will need to come up with some good story. He was satisfied with that plan; anyway a few days ago he was resigned to staying in Bogotá for the remaining of his trip, now he could at least do some of the things he wanted to do at the coast, and will only have to spend a couple of weeks teaching English classes. He could finally relax his mind and fall a sleep.
In the morning he woke up and took a shower, there he came up with a good story about where the money came from; the shower was always where his mind was most creative, and where he always got his best ideas. He called Ian. “Hi Ian”, “Hi Tom, how are you?” “I am fine, and I got some good news for you. I called the father of a friend of mine; he is associated with some church. I knew he was active in raising money for charities, and yesterday I remembered him. I don’t know why I did not remember him earlier. Anyway I told him about the orphanage, and the financial trouble you had, and he was very sympathetic and eager to help. I told him you needed the money badly and quickly, and he said he could immediately send a 1000$ though western union. I should get it today, and I can bring it over to you”. There was a silent moment on the phone, then Ian voice came out again: “I can’t begin to describe to how great news is this to us, Maria is going to be so happy when she hears this. Frankly those troubles lately were getting to her and she was feeling quite down. Its just great news amigo” Ian said. “I will come later today to the orphanage, with the money, I have to go to the western union office to pick it up, and I’ll see you later”, Tom was filled with anticipation and excitement about his new plan.
Back at the hostel he met Emma in the patio. “Hey Emma, how are you today?” he asked her. “I am fine thank you. And you?” she replied. “I am feeling great actually. So are you going to take the job at the orphanage?” He asked her. “Yes, I decided I will work there, I love the place and the people who work their, and of course the kids are just great” Emma said, smiling. “They certainly are”, Tom replied. “What about you? What are you going to do?” Emma asked. “I am going to the coast for a couple of weeks, and then I will be back to Bogotá for a couple of weeks”. “That’s great it means we will see each other again”, Emma looked delighted to hear that. “I am leaving this afternoon; I need to go to the orphanage one more time before I leave” Tom said. “Can I join you”, Emma suggested. “Of course I’d love that”, Tom smiled. He liked Emma and now he sensed she liked him too. There is a bright side to things after al; he would have the chance to spend time with Emma, and the kids as well, and he liked both. But there was more to it; he was feeling really good about himself and about life. He did not realize before how good it felt to give, especially when that giving actually makes a real difference to somebody else’s life, it is a priceless feeling. How many opportunities like this does one get in his life? ; An opportunity to make a real difference to someone else’s life, and to think that he almost let it slip away.
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