Lost and Found

My eyes felt as heavy as my feet did. My feet were anchors attached to the ground and I barely moved a muscle. Exhaustion struck me and I had not seen daylight for more than four hours. It was dark and the loud engines of cars voyaged many journeys through my ears. Traffic lights were on everywhere and the only one that wasn't was the one near the bus stop. It was dark there and had the pungent scent of urine. I stood a couple feet away so that I could catch the bus in time when it passed.

I waited but the bus took centuries. I waited for a bus that I thought would pass any minute. However I had an epiphany that if I kept waiting, I'd be waiting for the rest of my life. I took action and dragged my feet to the empty gas station nearby and entered. The old man's white long snowy beard behind the counter caught my attention. I approached him and asked him if he knew what time the bus by the broken traffic light passed. He responded with, "That bus don't pass till' sunrise, around 8 o'clock youngster." My eyes shot open and adrenaline hit my body in an instant. I no longer felt fatigue. I felt fear and paranoia. I politely thanked the man and exited the gas station.

A vibration hit my back. I opened my backpack and gasped. The only reason I used my tablet was to check the time. Now I had to conserve the battery life, or else I'd lose track of both the time and my location. Northridge is roughly 38 miles away from Los Angeles. I wished it was only 1. I wanted to be home like never before. Wind struck my body. Wind as cold as ice, but I wasn't cold because my blood pumped at the speed of light. I feared I lost my chances of getting back home.

Hours earlier a strange event occurred. A young woman in a neon green Kia Soul stopped in the middle of the street and yelled, "I found a lost dog! Is anyone looking for a dog?!" I gazed around and saw no dog but then realized my listening skills weren't functioning properly. The lady was searching for the owner not the dog. A couple of minutes passed and she drove off. The sun barely set. I arrived at the bus stop a couple minutes ago, and I thought about the lady searching for the owner.

It was midnight and I felt like in a little while longer, my eyes would cry a river. I wasn't just worried or paranoid anymore, I felt anxious, and extremely terrified of the stone cold reality that I was somewhere where I couldn't even determine what direction to walk back home in. The velocity of my heart increased, and with every pump, my body shook. I trembled and begged life for a miracle.

A loud honk snapped me out of it. I slowly turned around and hesitated to speak. The green Kia from earlier pulled up right beside me. The young woman rolled her window down. The woman asked me, "Hey, I saw you here awhile back. I've been looking for an owner of a German Shepard. I'd say maybe 4 to 6 months old. I'm wondering if you were looking for a dog." I told the woman I wasn't the guy she was looking for, and that I was just trying to get back home because I wasn't from the area. She asked me where I aimed to go. I immediately knew she wanted to help me. If she offered I would take her offer without a second thought. I knew she was a good- hearted person. Who else would find a German Shepard puppy and then drive around the city looking for the owner?

I caught a lucky break because she did indeed offer to give me a ride. I quickly got in the car, and she introduced herself. A lovely lady by the name Candy became my miracle. She was as beautiful and sweet as her name. Her brown hair was in a bun and she looked at me with her captivating green eyes as she proceeded to ask me to put my destination in her cellphone. She asked, "If you aren't comfortable, I could drop you off near your house." I input my neighbor's address and we loaded on to the freeway.

As we headed back home she asked me various questions. One of which was, why I was in Northridge to begin with? I told her that I came down to see a "friend" who in the end abandoned me. She wisely advised me to learn from the experience. We continued to discuss school and my aspirations for college. Traffic was heavy, but our conversations made it feel like traffic never even hit.

I'll never forget the story she told me of her as a child. One day Candy and her father took a road trip from Santa Barbara to San Diego. During the trip they encountered a recently married couple stuck on the freeway. Nobody stopped to help them. As a result, her father asked her to look cute and friendly so that he could offer assistance to the young couple. He pulled over to the side of the road and selflessly gave his help. Her dad went out if his way to aid two complete strangers that he saw were in need. He also kept in mind that the world we live in is highly suspicious of others. That is why he asked his daughter to look nonthreatening so that the couple will accept his help. There's an old saying in Spanish that states "Somos los espejos de nuestros hijos." Meaning, parents reflect the good and bad onto their children. I believe that saying because Candy went out of her way for me when she didn't have to. I am extremely grateful that she did because my mother would have killed me a thousand times over if I did not return that night. I truly am grateful to her for bringing me home.

As Candy and I arrived we both stared at the full moon above us. I thanked her and gave her $20 for gas and her troubles. At first she declined my offer but I insisted. Before I got off she gave me a hug. I ended up leaving with one thing that night; a new mindset. I have a four- leafed clover birthmark on my right arm, but the four- leaf clover I was born with didn't save me, Candy did. Candy sculpted me into a better person. I appreciate and value my family more because there are no other people in the world like them. If Candy wouldn't have helped me, who would’ve? She completely rescued me. I felt fortunate and I still am. Help others. Many people need it. Candy may have passed that message on to me but now I pass it on to anyone I can. In the end life repays you, but I'm not waiting to be rewarded.