'Salvation'

 So.. once upon a time (let's say at the end of the 80s) there was a girl with a long bucket list. Going to see the Olympic games was part of that list. She wasn’t really interested in sports

It was the history of the games that she admired. The ancient custom of stopping battles, even during war, that she admired. Well.. she knew that was not happening anymore, but still, she always wanted to be part of history. The Olympic games had (in her mind) some of the magic of the ancient philosophers or something.

When she became a teenager, it was announced that the Olympic games will be in the capital of her country.. in 8 years.

'That's enough time to plan it.' She thought.

In 8 years, she was still a student, not financially independent and without a plan. The opening and ending ceremonies were exactly what she wanted. But the tickets for them were beyond her affordability limits. Thus, she decided -after an add on the television, to become a volunteer in the ceremonies.

‘That might work,’ she thought.

 

That didn't actually seem to work. She was accepted in the backstage of the ceremony. That was not what she had in her bucket list. She wanted the goose bumps, she wanted the crowd cheers (she kind of hated crowds.. but she loved the feeling of being part of something bigger than her. Humans have that weird need, I suppose.)

She went to the capital, stayed in some friends of her mum there, and worked as much as she could in the rehearsals, beyond what was expected of her. She was always asking her supervisor what else to do, the minute she finished a task. She spent the whole summer doing her best.. and exploring the Olympic park area.

How far was the back stage from the actual stadium? Where was the nearest gate? Till where her volunteer's budge can take her?

It was soon clear that she will need a miracle to go in.

She was supposed to be all day there, helping backstage, and then, during the ceremony, she could only wait, to help again after it's all done.

That was not why she came there. If she needed a miracle to go in.. then she just needed a miracle to go in!

Happy with her 'plan,' she went the big day there full of faith.

Something will surely happen and she will get in.. somehow.

As the past months, she worked with all her strength that day. And in 30 min, the ceremony was about to start.

Still her plan was just to expect a miracle. But she felt, for some reason, that it was a good plan.

She went again to the supervisor and asked if there is anything else that she can help with. The supervisor was surprised by the question, because the girl should know by now what's the schedule. But a certain.. look, and a statement 'I'll go out for a bit, and my phone battery is dying,' was enough to give her supervisor the message that the girl will come back only after the ceremony is finished.

So, she gave a coded smile.. that contained all the understanding, in combination with doubt ('how is the girl going to get in the stadium?) and dismissed her.

 

The girl turned off her phone and started walking to the ceremony. To her bucket-list-tick-off place. To the unknown. To faith.

It was a long path, about 20 min walk from there.

Every step, that 20 min, had hope and faith and wander. She didn't doubt her coming miracle for one second (at least not the first 15 min.) She was just curious.

How is this miracle going to look like? What kind of story would unravel? What kind of story she can write in her blog 16 years later?

 

20 min have a lot of steps. At some point she started panicking. What if she just thought that her supervisor gave her the 'OK look,' and by now everyone is looking for her? What if she can't find a way to get in? What if expecting-miracles is just stupid.. something that humans use to replace 'no-hope?' Just to be able to ‘survive’ their existential terror?

Her paste had dropped. The time was passing. ‘They will start soon.’ The moment she was dreaming for 8 years. The moment she was working for, all summer. And how exactly did she expect that to work?

She stopped for a sec. Took a deep breath.

Inhale. Exhale.

No. She wouldn't just give up now. She increased her pace.

Yes. The miracle will manifest itself. It will. Not because she had a good plan. Just because she had good faith and she was willing to work for it, even if she had no idea how the work she did all summer, or her ‘faith walk’ now, will help; she knew.. somehow, she believed as hard as she could, that a miracle will manifest itself.

Hint of doubt.

Dismissing doubt.

Increasing steps even more.

Vaguely, she could see the gates now.

She felled like Atreyu reaching the Sphinxes' gates.

https://youtu.be/I_vzG5nYk1I

She took another breath.

She thanked the universe for letting her come all the way here.

She expected her miracle, but she didn't 'demand' it anymore. She was ready to ‘write history,’ even outside of the gates.

She was still ‘there’, short of.

 

She was almost at the gate now. She looked at her badge again. Not knowing exactly what she expected of it. Maybe the stamp that gives access inside would just appear..

No magical stamp.

She raised her eyes to the approaching gate.

Was that.. what?

Salvation! Right there, at the gate was.. Salvation!

Not an actual salvation of course. But Salvation, with flesh and blood. Her weird-name-friend from childhood (that she hadn’t seen for more than a year)!

‘What is she doing here?’

That moment, Salvation saw her. Smiled at her, kissed her and hugged her.

‘What are you doing here?’ asked our girl.

‘I’m at the tickets, volunteering. What are you doing here.’

‘I was expecting a miracle. And then I found you! Any chance you let me in?’

Salvation smiled, looked around, and let her in.

She saw the entire ceremony. She had her goosed bumps. She got her miracle.

After is was finished she returned to her duties, and her supervisor smiled at her with surprise. She could tell that the girl got her miracle.

The next day her dad announced that he bought tickets for her and her mum to the ending ceremonies.

And that’s how miracle engineering works I suppose.