Sunrise, by Peter Morford

It had been a pretty good night really and Lerner could have a lie in, for tomorrow’s Sunday. He had £40 for the evening’s work and a quid or two extra from tips. He felt it was worth working on the weekends if it meant his student loan would go further.   After a short walk he was at the entrance to the tube station.  In thirty minutes he would be home to enjoy a beer.  Then bed. And Sunday?  A bit on work on his essay about The Romantic Poets and back to MacD for the evening shift.  Another forty quid plus.

            At the bottom of the stairs leading to the escalator he saw the man sitting in the yoga position, his erect back a few inches from the wall. As he approached him Lerner heard him say, in a cultured voice, “If you feel so disposed you could put a small offering  I might be able to do something for you.”

            Lerner looked down at the shiny brass bowl and almost automatically he tossed a couple of coins onto it. “I might be able to do something for you,” the man said again. Lerner saw that he had put coppers in.  He felt embarrassed. After all, there were the gratuities.  He felt in his pocket again, dug out a pound and dropped it into the dish. As he was about to move on the man said, “Thank you young sir. Now I will do something for you.”

            Lerner stopped, wondering what the beggar meant.

            “You’ve helped me.  I’ll help you,” he said again. “I can grant you a wish.  Don’t laugh. I have a rule though. Do not make it here.  Don’t even think about it until you get back to your rooms. Then, and only then, just before you go to sleep, make the wish.  I’ll get the message. I bid you good night.” The young man hurried down the escalator and boarded the train.

            Later, as he drank his beer he thought again about the mysterious man. I’ll humour him, he thought. It’s harmless. In the warmth of his bed, he thought again of the man on the cold floor. Smiling to himself, the student murmured “I would like to see Australia.” He was quickly asleep.

            When he woke up he felt the warmth of the sun through the open flap of his tent. He went outside and saw the vast plain, stretching to the hills on the horizon. There was no sign of human life.  He felt as though he was the last man on earth when several kangaroos came up to him, and as if satisfied by what they saw, hopped away.

            He considered his position.In his pyjamas. No money, no other clothes, no cellphone. Nothing.  He though hard and wished.

**

Moral – if you make a wish to go anywhere, make sure you have a return ticket.  And cash.  And clothes.  And…