Finding Fortune Down Under

by Bonnie Gretzner (United States of America)

I didn't expect to find Australia

As our green-and-yellow ferry chugged through the calm waters of the Parramatta River, bound for Sydney Harbour, we stared at the neatly folded bills perched on my lap. "Can I hold them? Can we keep it?" my 13-year-old daughter asked, reaching for the 21 crisp $100 AU notes. I nodded to the first question, unsure how to answer the second. I handed her the bills, glancing around the half-empty ferry to see if anyone noticed this exchange. They didn’t. “Well,” my husband said slowly, “we did find it. Why not?” “Karma,” my 15-year-old daughter promptly replied. “I’d want it back if I lost it.” About 20 minutes earlier, our family had been standing on the Parramatta Wharf, watching the day’s first ferry depart. We’d missed it by 60 seconds, delayed by our inability to master left-side driving and Australia’s ubiquitous roundabouts. Passing the time until the next ferry, my daughters took numerous selfies with the river and cloudless blue sky as their backdrop. I wandered around the wharf, pausing when I felt a crunch underfoot. I was momentarily speechless as I counted the bills; this was a fortune to me. “You won’t believe this!” I whispered to my husband as we moved out of earshot from the newly arriving passengers. We were three days into a week’s Thanksgiving vacation to Sydney, Australia, and my husband and I were treasuring every moment with our teens. Already our time with them was growing scarcer, as sports, theater and now boys took priority in their lives. Soon they would leave for college, and our lives as empty nesters would begin. Despite a limited budget, we seized the opportunity for a once-in-a-lifetime family trip. Our funds, however, were dwindling at an astonishing rate; we’d spent over $1,100 U.S. dollars already, leaving $306 left for the remaining four days. After learning we could see Sydney the way 14 million do each year – by ferry – for just a few dollars, we planned a day trip to the CBD or Central Business District as the locals call it. Aboard the ferry, we gazed at the windfall clutched in my youngest’s hand. “We can climb the Harbour Bridge,” she exclaimed, eager for a view of the city at 440 feet; at nearly $300 per person, that idea was vetoed long ago. We tossed out other ideas now possible: A fancy dinner in the city or camping under the stars at Cockatoo Island, a former penal colony home to shops, restaurants and ghost tours. Though it was great fun to dream, we knew what we had to do. I jumped up and flagged the nearest employee. “We found this on the wharf. Maybe it belongs to someone on the first ferry?” He gave me an astonished look before replying, “We’ll radio ahead.” He paused, adding, “I bet you’re going to make someone very happy.” We pictured an older couple, tourists like us, panicking as they reached into an empty wallet. Or a single mom, having just cashed her paycheck; a month’s worth of wages gone in an instant. We imagined their sheer relief – and disbelief – at having regained what they thought forever lost. With hearts now as light as our pockets, we were ready to focus on the day ahead. As we climbed to the top deck, my daughters squealed with excitement as the Sydney Opera House sailed into view, the money quickly forgotten. We spent a glorious day exploring the cobbled streets of The Rocks, walking across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and napping on the lawn of the Royal Botanic Gardens. Fortified with a backpack filled with snacks and water, we didn’t spend a penny that afternoon. It wasn’t until we boarded the return ferry that we once more speculated about the money we found. “Do you think the owners got it back?” my youngest asked. “I don’t know,” I replied after a moment. “I hope so.” And I did. I revisited that notion of karma, how your actions today determine your future. I hoped that on our next adventure, we too would find good fortune when we least expected it and needed it most.