Tom and Jim stayed in the hostel for a few hours, not daring to leave out of fear of encountering Pablo again. Tom lay in the Hammock trying to calm down and recollecting the incidents of the last few days in his mind: The coke session, the messed up Sean, the confrontation with Carlos. He felt the alarm bells are ringing, and it is about time he started listening; there is an angry drug dealer looking for him, he used coke for the first time of his life, and he even became a drug dealer himself. He had to get out of this situation before things deteriorate further; it was too much for him, he went too far already down this slippery slope. He had the money he needed now, so there was no need for him to stay longer. “I think I am leaving Bogotá” he told Jim, who was drinking a bottle of Aguila beer. “I think it is a good idea mate, I think I’ll head out of here myself” Jim replied in a tired voice. Tom was debating to himself whether to leave now, or first thing in the morning, when a young women with a somewhat blond hair approached him. “Hi I am Emma”, she introduced herself. “Hi I am Tom”, Tom replied and shook her hand. “I could not help overhear you the other day talking about an orphanage, I am a public health worker, I just finished my studies. I am required do a few month of actual field work at the end of our study, and I was wondering if this orphanage needed volunteers”. Tom though for a moment then replied: “I can get in touch with my friend Ian, but I think they could use all the help they can get”. Tom thought for a moment, I would like to see Ian one last time before leaving Bogotá. “We could actually go there now if you want. I don’t mind being your guide for the afternoon; I was planning to go see my friend there anyway”. “Great, I am ready to go now, just give me a few minutes to pick a couple of things from my room”. “No problem I will wait for you here”.
Tom and Emma headed off to Chia, taking the same route Tom the time before; starting with the crowded Trans Millennium, followed by a bus to Chia. This time though he shared a taxi with Emma to get to the orphanage. The bus trip helped Tom calm down, and he was feeling a bit more relieved, now that he have decided to leave Bogotá; there would be no more Pablo. When he was done with his thoughts, he turned to Emma who was setting next to him, and started a chat with her about her studies and travels. She is so pretty with those green eyes and blondish hair and slim figure, Tom has been so preoccupied with his recent problems, that until that moment he did not give much attention to Emma’s beauty. She seemed to be quite intelligent as well, that’s the kind of woman I want, Tom thought to himself.
When they arrived to the orphanage they first walked over to the office, where they met Maria and Ian, who took them to do the standard tour of the place. When they arrived to the children’s house Tom stayed there, while the others continued their tour. The children were in the backyard having their afternoon snack; flavored Yogurt. As soon as they finished though, they were ready to play again, and soon Tom was spinning them in the air again, this time they showed him a different way to do it, holding one of their arms and one of their legs, instead of usual of way of holding two arms. But he could no more than a few of those before feeling dizzy, and he took a break by joining a couple of kids playing football. A while latter he was dragged to the swings, by a pleading kid. There his job was to do the swinging, and all the time they were asking him to push them higher and higher, expressing their enjoyment and excitement with laughs and shouts. These kids may have lost their family, but they certainly did not loose there desire to play. By now he knew a few of them by name: Rodrigo the one how dragged him to the swings, Mayra who laughs a lot, Cristina who is kind of shy, and needs some encouragement to come and play, and Diego who is a very good football player for a five years old. Later Emma and Ian joined him there, as soon as they finished the tour. Tom was relieved to see them, as they started playing with the kids as well, taking off some of the load from his shoulder; their where just too many kids with too much energy for one person to handle.
At some point he was exhausted and sat down on the side to rest, Ian joined him as well. “They’re great fun aren’t they?” Ian commented, “Yes they are, they have some much capacity for playing, it’s amazing. How is it going with the financial situation by the way?” Tom asked. “Not so well; I am going back next week to the
“I guess this is it” Tom said Ian. “Good luck with your trip” Ian replied. “It is great work you’re doing here, really amazing”, Tom added, “Thanks” Ian blushed. Ian then walked back with them until the main street, where they picked up a taxi. Tom and Ian hugged one more time before he and Emma got into the Taxi. In the bus back to Bogotá he asked Emma what she thought about the place, “It’s great; it is quite well organized, and the children are fantastic” she commented in a cheerful tone. “So that means you will work here?” Tom asked her. “I don’t know yet, I want to give some thought first. I have another option to work in
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