EDAN'S DREAM

Chapter 6 - South America

His next pit stop was the continent of South America4.

Edan was happy and excited.

He hadn't found his dream girl in the city that never sleeps? Yea! Maybe they were all worn out. And where dreams were supposed to come true? Well, it didn't for him. He'd have to look elsewhere instead.

But hey, strange things do happen – right?

Only a few days before his departure flight and he had to pack.

Packing his suitcase a few days in advance before travelling was a habit he'd learned by watching his father in travel mode.

One day, Edan asked him why.

He remembers his father's simple reason. "It was the best way to avoid last minutes rushing about and forgetting little details like passports and tickets."

It was a good thing he did. Because on this occasion he discovered to his horror the one thing that should never go missing.

His father's credit card was gone.

It was his meal ticket for all his travel plans. It was his bread and coconut butter. His paymaster general.

His heart skipped a beat. He felt cold shivers run down his spine. How?

He was frantic. Hence, he turned his single bedroom lodge inside out. Nothing!

He tried to retrace events of the past few days. Like, where he'd been. Who with and what he was doing. It was painful that his panic-stricken mind was briefly arrested in Limpopo. He wasn't making any sensible connections whatsoever.

In this confused state of shock, his mind just raced instead of think.

Calm down Edan, he told himself. Breathe!

Then it hit him like a flash of total recall.

The rude girl in Pink skates.

She was the only person who ran circles around him twice before coming to a stop.

He also remembered having the card in his back pocket at the time.

He hadn't paid for anything on the day. So, the possibility of a misplacement in a shop was arguably next to zero.

Did she pick his pocket as well without him knowing it? As he replayed the scene over again in his mind, he knew that was the only logical conclusion that could explain the disappearance of the credit card.

It made perfect sense. He's been done. Played like poker. Screwed over in the blink of an eye.

Edan was furious.

Yes, it was an unwelcomed invasion of his private space. Yes, he felt violated and ruffled. But all his anger was nothing more than a waste of valuable energy.

The deed was already done.

Blowing hot air and no steam wasn't going to get his father's lost credit card back.

He didn't even know the girl's name because there was no formal introduction.

Going to the Police would only achieve the opposite result. They could easily arrest him instead for spending on a credit card that wasn't in his name.

On a better day, it would have been a laughable dilemma. But it wasn't the best of his days by any account.

What then could he do?

Apart from a few change coins in his pocket, he'd no spending money left.

As he sat on his bed with his head in his hands, he thought about his family.