$27,000 Later
She had always dreamed of going to Paris. Ever since she was a little girl, she had imagined herself walking along the Seine, visiting the Louvre, and climbing the Eiffel Tower. She had saved up for years, working as a waitress, a tutor, and a babysitter, to afford the trip of a lifetime. She had booked her flight, her hotel, and her tours, and she had packed her suitcase with excitement. She was ready to go.
But then, everything went wrong. Her flight was delayed by a storm, and she missed her connection in London. She had to spend the night at the airport, sleeping on a hard bench, and wait for the next available flight. She arrived in Paris a day late, tired and hungry, only to find out that her hotel had given away her room. She had to look for another place to stay, and ended up in a dingy hostel, sharing a room with six strangers. She tried to make the best of it, and went to see the sights, but she soon realized that Paris was not what she had expected. It was crowded, noisy, and dirty. She was constantly harassed by street vendors, pickpockets, and beggars. She was scammed by a fake taxi driver, who charged her a fortune for a short ride. She was robbed by a group of teenagers, who snatched her purse and ran away. She was lost in the metro, and couldn’t find her way back to her hostel. She was miserable.
She decided to cut her trip short, and go back home. She had wasted all her money, and had nothing to show for it. She felt like a fool. She had dreamed of Paris, but she had only seen the worst of it. She had spent $27,000, and all she got was a nightmare. She wished she had never gone.
But her troubles were not over yet. When she tried to check in for her flight back, she found out that her ticket had been cancelled. She had no idea why, and no one could help her. She had to buy a new ticket, which cost her another $2,000. She had barely enough money left to pay for it, and she had to use her credit card. She hoped that it would work, and that she would not be charged any extra fees. She boarded the plane, hoping that nothing else would go wrong.
But she was wrong. The plane had a mechanical problem, and had to make an emergency landing in another country. She had to wait for hours, without any food or water, until another plane was ready. She was terrified, and she prayed that she would make it home safely. She finally arrived at her destination, after a long and exhausting journey. She was relieved, and she thought that her ordeal was over.
But she was wrong again. When she got home, she found out that her apartment had been broken into. Her TV, her laptop, her jewelry, and her clothes were all gone. She had nothing left. She broke down in tears, and she felt like giving up. She had lost everything. She had spent $27,000, and all she got was a disaster. She wished she had never been born.
