Against all odds

The day dawned bright and sunny as Julie got out of bed and walked to the window. The weather seemed to hold a lot of promise as she needed to go into town. She had numerous errands to run; among them was an overdue library book that she had been meaning to return. She had her breakfast and decided to go into town to return the book. She went about her household chores and then decided to get ready. However, she was in for a rude awakening when she glanced out of the window. The weather which had looked so promising had suddenly taken a turn for the worse. The sky was overcast, and even as she looked out, a flash of lightning illumined the sky and an ominous rumble of thunder seemed to be a harbinger of the imminent change in the weather.

She decided to wait a while and see if it would clear up, so she could carry on with her planned trip into town. But all too soon there was a huge downpour accompanying a thunderstorm. She decided to brave it even though the very elements seemed to be conspiring against her.  She prepared for her trip into town and left the house en route to the bus stop. Unfortunately for her, by the time she reached there, she was soaked to the skin and couldn’t proceed any further. She returned home and changed into dry clothes. The rest of the day was also inclement and so she decided to put off her proposed journey into town for another day. She spent the day handling numerous tasks around the house.

By the following day, the weather had cleared up, and it seemed more suited to her proposed excursion into town. She got dressed and left the house headed for the bus-stop a short distance from her home. The library book was long overdue and she needed to return it. As she walked hurriedly across the road, she failed to see a car coming at speed from the opposite direction. The driver too seemed not to be aware that she was crossing the road. At the last minute, he saw her and screeched to a sudden stop, but not before a glancing blow from the car knocked her off her feet. She lost her balance and fell down on the road, landing on her back with the impact. Luckily for her, she did not sustain any serious injuries, but suffered only severe bruising on her hands and feet. The driver got out of the car and solicitously helped her to her feet. He assured himself that she was not seriously injured and offered to drop her home. She accepted the offer as she was a little unsteady on her feet. He dropped her off and waited till she got into her home. After seeing that she needed no further assistance, the man drove away.

The following day found her suffering the effects of the accident. She found it difficult to move around the house, let alone venture to go into town. The overdue library book was weighing on her mind, but she was in no position to make the trip into town. Since she was unable to return the book herself, she called up several friends to see if they could do it for her. One friend, Annie, agreed to return the book for her, but said,” I’m so sorry, I would love to help you out, but I can only manage it next week. I’m tied up at the moment.” She decided to wait a few days to see if she could do it herself. Unfortunately, it was taking her some time to recover fully from the accident.

Three days later, she felt fit enough to go into town. She changed and left the house after making sure she had everything she would require on hand, including the overdue library book. She went to the bus-stop and waited for the bus to arrive. Buses on that route were not very frequent, so she had to wait a while. When the bus finally drew up, she prepared to board it. As she was climbing aboard, she felt a tug on the strap of her hand-bag. As she looked down, she saw an urchin grab her bag from her shoulder and take to his heels. By the time she raised the alarm, he was out of sight. She found herself in something of a predicament. All her cards and cash were in the bag that had been stolen. Though the driver and the people on the bus were very helpful, she got off the bus as she needed to lodge a complaint with the police. She would also need to cancel her debit and credit cards with the bank. Her library book was among the few things that remained in her possession as it was in a carry-bag she had in her hand. By the time she completed all the formalities at the police station and the bank, it was rather late. She was also too tired to go into town that day. She decided the library book would just have to wait for another day.

When she returned home, she called up her friends to share the news about her misadventures of the day. They were all shocked as the place where she lived was normally quite safe and crime-free. One of her friends, Bryan commiserated with her and offered to take her into town as he was headed in that direction the following day. She decided to take him up on his offer and return the library book in the bargain. Bryan arrived promptly at the designated time and bore her off in his car. He insisted on dropping her off at the library, so she made her way to the counter, took out the book and handed it over to the lady behind the counter. Fortunately for her, she did not even charge her a late fee for her tardiness. At last, she was able to return the overdue book and collect a fresh one from the library.