Lost

Chapter 1 - Decision

There comes a time in every youth's life where he or she has to make a hard choice, or a string of choices. These choices are usually life changing, and helm him or her gain perspective about their skills. Petal was a classic example of such a situation.

Petal was the only daughter of Marilyn, a local floral store owner in Downing Street where they lived in London. She had named her daughter after her merchandise, something of a poetic inside joke. Petal's father had left her and her mother when she was just 2 years old and they just had each other in this world, and according to them, that was more than sufficient. Petal loved her mother. She didn't like to tick her off for anything, and as a result they got along very well.

Marilyn was earnest and effective in getting Petal educated. Petal never felt that she was the daughter of a single mom. Her mother was always there for her. She completed her education in a local public school with flying colors. She then went to college and finished her graduation as a business major in London as well. She wasn't a bad student at all. In fact she was so good, that she had gotten offers for work in France, the United States and believe it or not, Japan.

What was admirable wasn't the fact that she had those many offers, but that she rejected each of them. She decided to find a job in London, because she wanted to support her mother now. It was her turn. She decided she'd work for a few years and pay off the loans and mortgages and then she'd buy a small home in Newcastle where her mother's relatives all lived and they'd run a small store, just enough for their daily needs. She had it all figured out.

But there was just a tiny problem. She hadn't found a job that agreed with her in London. She had gotten offers from companies abroad and all of them required for her to travel to a different country. None of the organizations had agreed her request to let her stay in London. Now it felt like she had to start from scratch to find a job. And these were trying times. Finding a job in London wasn't an easy job. It meant long hours of staring at news paper advertisements and giving interviews, then waiting patiently for one of the firms to call back. And she did just that.

Marilyn observed as her daughter did all of this with a silent tear in her eye. Her daughter, who had topped the university two out of the three years her course, took. Her picture had come on the papers a few times; the firms that took her in were firms to die for. Her pride for her daughter new no bounds and it pained her to see how Petal was wasting away her future for her sake.

She soon found a solution for her daughter to get a good job. A few blocks away from her shop, there was a firm in which there was a person, Joseph who frequented her shop to buy flowers and manure. She figured she'd ask him for any openings that might be there in his firm. And she did just that. The very next day, Joseph came to the shop.

"Joseph, we've known each other for a few years now, could you do me a favor" Marilyn asked meekly.

Joseph was surprised, He knew Marilyn was a proud woman, he enjoyed talking to her, and he had found out how she had taken care of her infant daughter and lived through alone without any outside help. And for her to ask help, he knew she really needed something and had no other options. Thinking this, he said "Sure Mary, anything for an old friend"

"Thanks Joe, you know my daughter, she just finished college and was searching for a job, could you hook her up with something?" Marilyn said.

Joseph understood what the problem was. He had come to know Petal too and knew how she had left her opportunities for her mother. He respected the little girl. He knew he had to help them. He said "Sure Mary, I will see what I can do; I'll call you up later today after I've asked around"

And then he left, he knew what he had to do. He rushed to his office and picked up his phone.