I was walking down the packed avenue, scanning every bush and bench for a single Easter egg. The event organizers had told me they were hidden all the way down this road, so I figured I could find at least one. It was Easter Sunday, and I’d been searching for two hours without any luck. I brought my big bag out of pure hope, but every spot I checked turned up empty.
Someone even said they saw an egg just five meters ahead of me, but by the time I got there, it was already gone. I was in a good mood anyway. I’d been planning my spring trip to France, where I’d stay with another streamer in Paris for a week and then practice with my coach in Le Mans. I was trying to brush up on my French, since I already spoke a bit.
I even sang a few lines of a Spanish folk song I remembered from my opera days, just to pass the time. But as I kept walking, the sun getting warmer and my legs starting to ache, the thought of finding nothing started to sink in. I asked people if they’d seen any eggs, but most just shrugged. I was starting to think the organizers sent me on a wild goose chase.
“Maybe they just wanted me to go away,” I said to myself. Then, out of nowhere, I spotted it. There, tucked at the base of some bushes, was a colorful egg. I sprinted toward it before anyone else could grab it.
A kid was standing nearby, looking at the same spot, but I got there first. “Oh my God. Yes! I found one!
” I shouted, scooping it up. Then I heard the crying. The kid burst into tears. He was watching me hold the egg I’d just taken from right in front of him.
I froze. I felt terrible. “Should I give it to him? ” I asked.
My view was split on what to do, but I could hear the kid’s sobs. I could feel the guilt wrapping around me. I hadn’t meant to take it from him. I just saw it and ran.
But now I was standing there, holding my victory, while a little boy was crying over it. “I’m so sorry,” I said, looking at him. I had the choice before me: hand it back, or keep the one egg I’d spent two hours hunting for.
I looked at the child, then at the egg, and I could feel the weight of the decision.
