Chronicles in the Life of Peter Blank, Part 13

Episode 13: The Hitch-hiker
Peter was planning the return to the land of his birth. His bride-to-be, also born in that same land, was to follow some months later. They decided that the bulk of her luggage, which was in storage, could be air-freighted along with Peter's luggage to save her the burden of organising it later in the year. A taxi-truck was duly rented and the cabin trunk and boxes were delivered, along with Peter and Mary, to the Air Cargo depot in one of the outer suburbs of the city.
Peter and Mary felt a little anxious as the items were weighed. They only had limited funds, some which would be required for their return journey from the city. They prayed silently as the scales creaked under the weight of their parcels. The depot attendant asked how much they anticipated paying. A chin-scratching "Hmmmm" followed their reply, and he sighed, "I'll see what I can do."
A few minutes later he smilingly announced that, due to a reclassifying the luggage as household effects, the amount they had suggested would be the exact amount he would receipt for them.
Peter and Mary had gone to the suburban depot in a taxi-truck -- they now had to find a way back to the Central Railway Station in the heart of the city. They felt their best option would be to walk the several kilometres to the International Airport and travel from there to the Central Railway Station on the Airport Shuttle Bus.
As they waited to cross a busy intersection, Peter jokingly pointed out a 'bus to Mary which had the word AIRPORT emblazoned across the front. Peter's pointing digit had apparently caught the eye of the driver who, it seems, mistook it for a gesture for him to stop. He signalled a reply, to the effect that he would wait for them on the other side of the intersection.
They boarded the 'bus and were immediately directed by the driver, without verbal interchange, to jostle to the back of the 'bus. In bewilderment, they did so, but were even more surprised when the 'bus failed to turn off at the side road to the airport, but proceeded immediately into the city and stopped outside the Central railway Station. Amid the clambering passengers they made their way to the front of the 'bus. The driver was nowhere to be seen! A perambulated circuit around the 'bus revealed the driver, an Oriental gentleman, unloading suitcases from the stowage area under the 'bus. Upon asking how much they owed for the journey, he said, "You hitch-hikers. No pay!"
With gratitude they made their way to the relevant platform and caught a much earlier train than was originally planned, thanking God once again for attending to the minutest detail.
However, the lessons for Peter are not finished yet.


-- Lionel Hartley, Not Finished Yet -- Chronicles in the Life of Peter Blank
"This serial saga, although novel, is not a novel. It is merely a series of true-life episodes highlighting the extraordinary working of an extraordinary God in a very ordinary life. Each episode contained a lesson for Peter Blank, a lesson we can all learn, from a lesson-book life that is not finished yet."
As first appeared in FreEzine Magazine July 2000 ff