A BLESSING IN DISGUISE ........

ALEXANDRA TSIALIDOU

It was last Friday night when my parents told me that they had to go to work the next morning and somebody had to go to the bank to pay a business bill. Because it was the last day of the week, I offered to go myself. My mother explained everything to me and to which bank I should go, and warned me at least ten times that the bank closed at 1 o’clock. She showed me where she would put the business bill and told me that at 9 o’clock I should get up. " Okay Mum, I understand everything. Goodnight" I said.

When I woke up in the morning I looked at my watch, the time was 11 o’clock. I had overslept. I got so nervous, that I couldn’t remember where my mother had put the bill. I was looking for it for about half an hour, then I suddenly relaxed, pulled myself together and remembered where it was. I hurriedly went out of the house and just as I was ready to leave on my bike, sure that I would be there on time, I saw my bicycle had a puncture. At first I didn’t know what to do, but then I decided to take a taxi. I found one at 12:15. When I arrived at the bank, I was so relieved. I went inside, but suddenly I thought about my mother’s words and specifically about the name of the bank. I went outside and read the name. Oh, hell! I was at the wrong bank, and the time was 12:50. I said to myself "I will never be there on time", so I went home.

When I got home, disappointed and ashamed, I turned on the TV. While I was watching a film, it was suddenly interrupted for an emergency newsflash. "The bank X (my bank) was robbed today. Two customers were killed. The police haven’t found the robbers yet". I didn’t know how to feel; glad and lucky that I wasn’t there or sad for the two unlucky men who had been killed. Suddenly the phone rang; it was my mother. She was so relieved to hear my voice, and when she asked me at what time I had come back, I said, " I never went".