Malina Tray walked down the street and looked around she was looking for anyone who looked sad or lost. She smiled as she knew what was about to happen, she looked around the fountain and saw 5 people. She only had ten minutes to tell them all, so she had better do it quick. The first was a child a young girl about the age of 8...
"What have you lost dear?" asked Malina
"My favorite toy," said the girl " a doll that I was given as a gift."
"Where did you last have it?" asked Malina
"Somewhere around this fountain, but I don't know where." said the girl.
"Well, keep looking dear, don't give up." said, Malina. The girl nodded and continued looking.
8 minutes to go Malina thought, the next person was a young woman in a sweater and matching scarf. She went up and asked
"What have you lost?"
" I have lost the key to my cafe," said the woman, "I don't know what could have happened to it."
"Well keep looking," said Malina "you might just find it."
5 minutes left, Malina went up to the next person, a disappointed looking man a bit older than the woman,
"What have you lost?" Malina asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about." said the man.
Malina smiled. "Sometimes when we lose something it is not an item, sometimes it's something we can't even touch."
The man smiled sadly. "Well, then I guess I have lost my hope." he said, "I lost my job and can't seem to find another to support my family."
"Well don't give up hope," said Malina "the answer to your problem might be closer than you think."
3 minutes, Malina went up to a young man who was staring sadly into the fountain.
"What have you lost?" she asked.
"What makes you think I've lost something?" he replied.
"I have a way of knowing," she said, "Why are you so sad?"
The man looked back into the fountain. "I lost my mother recently, her funeral was yesterday, I'm all alone now." he said sadly.
" I'm sorry," Malina said sympathetically, "But remember, your mother is still with you, and I don't think you will feel alone for much longer."
"I hope so." said the man starting to cry.
Malina only had 1 minute to go, she hated to leave him, but needed to go, she gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder as she passed. The last person was a young boy who couldn't have been older than 6.
"What have you lost dear?" she asked once more.
"I...I think I'm the one who's lost." he said timidly.
Malina looked understanding, "Did you get separated from your mom." she asked.
"...y..yeah." he said.
Malina took ahold of his hand, "Well you just wait a minute sweetie, everything's gonna be okay." she said. Time was up, and suddenly the wind blew, it was strong but not rough, it was warm and smelled sweet. Malina smiled, then a lot of things happened at once. The first was that the wind caused the little girl to turn her head to feel the wind against her cheek, which causes her to look and see a small park tree, under the tree was her doll, she smiled. The next was that the wind blew a page of the newspaper into the face of the man who was out of work. He grabbed the page and saw on the front, an advertisement for a job at a local store, he smiled. The next was that the wind blew off the scarf of the young woman, and blew it towards the fountain. The next was that the wind blew away the tears of the sad young man so that he was able to look down and see a shiny metal key. The young woman was finally able to grab her scarf and stopped near the young man. The man picked up the key and saw her,
"Is this yours?" he asked.
"Why yes." she said, " I have been looking everywhere for this, I can't believe I didn't think to check by the fountain." she smiled.
"Why don't you come into my cafe over here," she continued, "the least I can do is give you a free cup of coffee."
"Yeah." the man nodded, "Okay." he gave her a small smile.
Malina's smile only grew. She looked down at the young boy who had closed his eyes and was starting to smile at the wind. She let go of his hand,
"Why don't you pretend to be a leaf blowing in the wind." she said. The boy opened his eyes and nodded. He began to drift in the wind, and the wind blew him right into a young woman who had just walked into that part of the street.
"Johnny!" shouted the woman, "I've been looking everywhere for you." his mother said.
"Sorry mom." he said, "I didn't mean to get lost." His mother hugged him, and both of them smiled. Malina looked around with a smile, she would never get tired of this, the wind started to pull her in a new direction, and she kept her smile as she turned to follow it.