Everything was ready to start his trip. As every other time, he had his MAP, a mnemonic word he he used to remember to take the essentials: Money, Address and Passport.
He packed his baggage. In the bag he had: shirts, jeans, short trousers, socks, trainers and a cap. There was a taxi waiting opposite John’s house. When the driver saw John come out, he took his bag. They went to airport, but there was an accident in a street and they had to wait. After thirty minutes, they were on their way to the airport again. John was going on holidays to London to visit his grandparents.
The flight was due at ten o’clock…
I landed at ten o’clock and I looked at the map. There were two kilometres to my grandparents’ house. I walked while I looked at the map all the time, but I felt that I was lost. That city was so big. I questioned a citizen:
Can you tell me where the “Stick Insect Road” is?
– Oh yes, I can, it is about one kilometre from here. You must to go straight ahead in that way, and then, the street you must to continue is on the right.
– Then I go straight ahead again, right?
– Yes.
– Ok, thank you very much.
– You’re welcome.
I went in the direction the citizen had told me.
There were a lot of people in the street and I saw a lot of homeless sleeping in the streets and begging for money. I knew that the world was going through a bad patch, but I had never thought that it was that bad!! I was very frightened and upset.
I came in a supermarket to buy a bottle of water, because I was very thirsty.
When I was going to pay the bottle of water I couldn’t find the letter M of the mnemonic word MAP. I didn’t have my wallet!
‘Oh, no, I’ve been robbed!!’ – I shouted.
John was very sad. He didn’t know what to do. The shop’s girl saw that John didn’t have any money to pay for the bottle of water, so she invited him. John was very grateful but he soon realized that in the wallet which had been stolen from him, he had his passport and the grandparent’s adress. The young man returned to the street and he decided to become a beggar in order to get some money. He only wanted to live and to find his grandparents.
After a few days he didn’t have any money, then he started to steal with others beggars. One day, John tried to steal a wallet from a man, but he got a big surprise because that man was a plain-clothes detective inspector. The inspector took John to the police station. John was very frightened and he shouted:
– I’m not a thief, I only want to live and find my grandparents!
The inspector looked at John and said:
-You must be quiet or I will have to arrest you.
He was a tall, thin man with pale skin. He had brown hair and deep, blue eyes. He was over 50 years old and he was so serious all the time. John was really afraid of him, so when they arrived at the police station John started to cry. The inspector took him to a white room. Inside, there was a man and a woman who started to ask questions to John. He answered all the questions and explained his circumstances to them. After all of this, he was so nervous he fainted away.
When he woke up, he saw that he was in another room. This room was white too, but it seemed like… yes! He was at the hospital! He started to call someone and the first person who came in the room… was his grandma!!
-Grandma!! Oh my god!! What are you doing here? Where I am and why??
-Oh, honey, you are at the hospital because of your faint. How are you?
His grandma was talking to him with a smile on her face but, when he asked her about the police station and everything that had happened, she said seriously:
-We will talk about what you did, ok? – then she recovered her smile.- But now you must rest. Your grandfather is in the café, because he was here all night.
-All night!! How long have I been here?
-Very long…
I was safe, I couldn’t believe it! I was finally with my grandparents!
Suddenly, my grandfather came in the room, he was very serious. He didn’t say anything, he sat down on the bed, near me and hugged me. My grandmother started to cry in silence. They had been very worried because they thought that I was lost! My grandfather told me:
-Dear grandson, you had been very brave, you were alone in a strange city without money… but you did something wrong, you couldn’t steal! This is something terrible, you aren’t a thief! You should go to the police station and ask them, telling our names, they could have taken you home!
-Sorry, grandad… I didn’t know what to do, I was very frightened…
-It doesn’t matter, now you must rest. You must try to sleep and tomorrow we can go home, ok?
He kissed my forehead and went out of the room. I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
When I woke up my grandmother was still sleeping in a sofa near my bed. I wanted to pee so I went towards the bathroom, but when I went in I was surprised, there was somebody using the toilet. He shouted something that I couldn’t undestand well and I went out of the bathroom quickly without looking at him. I had forgotten that I had a room partner. Incredibly my grandmother hadn’t awakened with the shout, she surely had spent a bad night in that filthy sofa and she hadn’t slept a lot. I was very embarrassed but I should apologize with my partner, so I waited until he came out of the bathroom. When he came out I was surprised, she was a girl about twenty years old, I was starting to apologize when she told me.
-Are you silly, guy?
I waited an unfriendly attitude but not so unfriendly. Also I hadn’t looked at her. I didn’t know that she was a girl. She continued.
-Can’t you call before going in? Normal people can.
-Sorry, I didn’t know that I had a room partner.
-OK, you think that the whole hospital is yours, perfect.
Suddenly, I saw that she had something under her hospital gown. She was pregnant!
-Sorry, I made a mistake; I won’t disturb you ever again.
-Ok, but you have disturbed me, so now I’m very angry.
-Don’t worry; I think that tomorrow I won’t be here, so you can be calm.
-But today…
-Shut up, please! My grandmother is sleeping and we are disturbing her. You are pregnant and arguing isn’t good for your baby.
The pregnant girl was very angry, but she calmed down and she went to the café. I went to the bathroom, I started to have a pee and I could see that my pee was completely red. I called the doctor quickly and my grandmother woke up.
-What is happening now? She said.
I didn’t say anything, because I didn’t know what I had to say. I waited for the doctor. The doctor came in the room, he threw my grandmother out and he said to me:
-Don’t worry but we must do a urine test and we must wait for the results.
-So tomorrow I will still be here! I said a bit upset.
-Yes. You must probably stay in hospital for three or four days more.
I don’t really like that idea: I must be in hospital 3 days more… I thought in the woman who was prenant, would she be angry for 3 days? I don’t like being angry with a prenant woman, so I must be friendly with her.
The next day John woke up and he saw his grandma and his grandpa. His grandma asked him:
-How are you?
-I’m OK, I don’t know why I’m here…
-Come on, John I know you don’t like hospitals, but you must stay here.
-Yes, but I think that my room partner is angry with me, and I don’t really like this.
-Oh, I know, I talked to her this morning, and he has had a new baby!
The results of the tests came and they showed that John was very sick. Doctors would operate on John the next day. John could not sleep at night because he was very nervous. In the next morning, doctors operated on John and everything was well. Doctors said that in one week he would go to his grandparents’ house. The police would come and see him every day.
He spent a week in hospital, every day he argued with his roommate… He spent one month with his grandparents and then the judge ordered John to provide 72 hours of community service. When he finished all, he returned home again. He will never forget the experience.
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