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Brian was singing a song but he could not remember all the words. He was 8 years old with light brown hair and dark brown eyes and really loved to go exploring. He had explored enough of the beach near his hotel to make a mental map of it. As the sun disappeared behind the tall sand dunes he realized his mental map was not his main concern. The T-shirt, swimsuit, and flip-flops he was wearing were fine for the daytime, but the cool sunset breeze gave him a chill he could feel all over his body. He ran down the path wanting nothing more than to get back to the hotel before his parents got worried and started looking for him.
The path went around a patch of small cactuses. Seeing the hotel on the other side he thought it would be best to save time, so he traveled through the cactuses in a straight line to the hotel. Slowly and carefully, he searched for empty spaces where he could safety place his foot. With all the time he spent exploring, he was quite good at finding patches of dirt and sand among the cactuses. As he continued empty spaces became fewer and smaller. Soon he had to place his foot on some of the smaller cactuses; not an easy thing to do while wearing flip-flops. The sharp, prickly thorns pierced his skin with every step he took. At last he realized he could go no further, but it would be just as difficult to go back the way he came. He was stuck.
“HELP!” he yelled at the top of his lungs.
All he could hear was an eerie silence. In the remaining light he could see the sand being blown around by the wind. He looked in the direction the wind was blowing and held up his hands to shield his eyes from the sand. The last thing he needed was to lose his sight too. The wind began to moan as if mocking him and his decision to take a short cut through the cactuses. Still he was not yet willing to give up.
“Somebody please help me!” he yelled again.
In the distance he could see a man and a woman coming from the hotel. They appeared to be husband and wife or at least good friends. With their protective clothing, especially their shoes, they had no problem navigating the field of cactuses.
“Stay where you are!” shouted the man. “We’ll get you out of this.”
Brain had no intention of moving anyway. As soon as the couple reached him, the man picked him up and carried him to safety. About halfway out Brain dropped one of his flip-flops. The woman was right there to pick it up. Once again safely on the path, they set him down gently on the cactus free ground below and the woman returned his flip-flop.
“Thank you for getting me out of that sticky situation,” said Brain. “It is good to know total strangers are willing to help someone in need.”
“I was glad to do it,” the man replied. “Come with us. We want to make sure your wounds do not get infected.”
Brain walked with the couple back to the hotel room. They bandaged his wounds and made sure there were no serious injuries. When they were done, Brain returned to his hotel room and went straight to bed. He had done enough exploring for one day.
Copyright 2000, Steve Lucky
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