Fairy tales

[fbhjr]

I was coming out of a meeting this morning and saw an old woman standing in the foyer of our building. She was reasonably old, bent over her cane a fair bit, and looking confused.

I walked over to the door and opened it for her.
“Can I help you?” I asked.
“I’m here to pay my water bill,” she said, holding out an envelope to me.
“I’m afraid this is a robotics company,” I said. “We don’t do water bills.”
“This isn’t the water department?”
“No, I’m afraid not.”
“Then, where do I go?”

She held up her envelop and waved it at me. It was full of cash, I assume to pay her water bill. But, I spied an address on it.

“IF you wait here, I can look up where you need to go,” I told her.
She agreed to wait and I googled the address.

The problem was fairly plain. The water company is at the end of the first road on the south side of Mill street. We are at the end of the first road on the north side of Mill street. Someone clearly told her to take the first road and go to the end, they just got which end of it she’d start at wrong.

I printed her a map and explained the directions.
“Go out of the parking lot, turn left. Go to the stop sign, turn right. Go until you see Watershed lane and turn right. Go to the end of that road.”
“You’re sure it isn’t here?”
“No, I’m afraid you’re about 2 miles away.”
“Oh…”

She thanked me and went off.

Anyone who has read any fairy tales knows that this really must have been some sort of test for me.
Who knows what could have gone wrong if I ignored her or didn’t help her?
I might be turned into a beast. OR cutlery. Or, maybe my department would be cutlery.
Who knows?

I’m glad it was averted…

Comments

[chris_warrior]

<3

[tjoel2]

Good choice to give her a map and send her in the right direction!

[brickhousewench]

You are a good egg!