A Fun Little Short Story

The Unforgettable Trip:
"IN NEED AND IN WANT"

Our family came up with a plan to surprise our friend Addy with a visit to see him all the way to his home in Pakistan from our home in the U.S. He was totally shocked! The hours dwindled away as we shared some of the best times together with our families and learned so much about his country and enjoyed each others' company day after day. But it flew by so quickly and soon it would be time to say our good-byes; we were beginning to feel quite sad.

The day before we left, Addy and I went to the art gallery to see his two new pictures up in lights for the first time! We could see the looks on people's faces as they were touched by the colors and the softness of the shine against the paper and shapes.

One woman looked rather mesmerized by them and held her hand to her heart like it had great meaning to her. The pictures were just beautiful and could easily take your breath away. They were so special to Addy, as he spent so much time getting them ready to be shown, and finally the day had come. He had no idea what to expect.

People mingled everywhere. Within minutes, as we were about to turn and leave, we saw a sales man place a "SOLD" sign on one of Addy's pictures! Addy's heart jumped! He was hoping to help a family in need with the money from the sale of the pictures, but thought it would take weeks or even months to sell them. As we were gasping with excitement over the sale, to our surprise, the second picture had a "SOLD" sign placed on it as well! Addy and I could not believe our eyes. As we turned the corner to look for the sales man, we had really not known any shock until now!! As we stood there staring in confusion, there were two more pictures with "SOLD" signs on them! There stood our very own pictures side by side!


Pictures of us!! Who had done this? Who had taken our pictures and sold them for money? We were shocked! All of a sudden, a friend came bounding 'round the corner and said to us both, "You really didn't think I wasn't going to stay out of this event to raise money for this hungry family, did you?"

Right away, we should have known! Likan, our friend from India, came to visit, and there he stood, with the biggest grin ever, so excited! No one could ever be mad at any of his pranks or silly stunts. He just had a giving heart and his own way of doing things.

Then Likan said, "And guess what?! I even sold one by mistake outside that was my prized possession that a man fell in love with. I gave it up just for this needy family! So, please don't be mad at me for using your pictures. We all raised a ton of money for a great cause. Okay? Pleeeeese?? I should have asked, but thought for sure you would have said, "No! I'm sorry!"

Addy, Lynne, and Likan all laughed and enjoyed the feeling of helping and being used to cheer others who were truly in need. Lynne and Addy were not mad at all! They were flattered that someone would actually buy their pictures for this great cause and so pleased at the outcome.

After they collected the money and delivered it to the teary-eyed family, who were so full of gratitude and overwhelmed with joy, the three friends looked across the street, and Addy yelled with great excitement! "Look!! Over there!!"

They had always dreamed of taking a hot air balloon ride one day together, and right then and there, stood a man offering them to go up for a reasonable price. So with great excitement mixed with fear, all three of them went and shared the dream of their lives!

It was the most beautiful memories to treasure in the splendid skies looking down from the heavens on the beautiful earth that looked so at peace. These memories they would hold in their hearts forever since they would probably never see each other again. Likan looked over with his glass of champagne in one hand, and swung it in the air and shouted, "Dosts" forever!!
("friends" in his language)

What a perfect day to have with special friends that were so close at heart yet lived so far away. They would soon be back at their own homes and back to spending time on the computer trying to stay in touch and building up their blog on the "Menagerie!" These are times they looked forward to every day to spend time together with their friends! (Please join them anytime!)

~ The end~

A Fun Little Short Story