Story 15. Written by Jim Waitlord

John and Josh, they were friends since they were kids. Always dreaming of getting rich. Not just a little rich either, but the whole shebang. Fancy cars, big houses, the easy life, you know? But how? How do you get that in a tiny village where everyone farms?

The answer seemed easy enough. Gambling.

John, he was hooked on horse races. Josh, lotto tickets were his thing. They actually won a bit at first. A taste of the good life, or so they thought. But luck? It vanished. Fast. They sunk deeper into debt. They had to let their dreams go.
John, he decided to go abroad. A friend helped him find work. Garbage truck driver in some big city. Cars were his thing. Always had been. But he never thought he’d be driving a garbage truck.

Josh, stayed in the village. Landscaping, that was his new gig. He worked in rich people's gardens. Weeding, raking, tending the flowers. Digging in the dirt, it wasn’t his dream. But, oddly enough, he found some peace there.

Then, it happened. A pandemic. A virus, no one knew where it came from. It hit people's immune systems. Doctors learned a strange thing. People in sterile environments? They were the most vulnerable.
John and Josh, well, they were fine. They had been touching dirt. Touching grime. Bacteria all day long. Their immune systems were like steel, ready for any battle, virus included.

While others were locked up, scared. John, he was still driving his garbage truck. Josh? He kept tending those gardens. And the two men realized. They weren't rich. Never would be, but somehow life had worked out.

One day, they met at an old pub's yard. John stopped and looked at Josh.

“You know what, man?” John said, “Living in the dirt, it’s not so bad.”

Josh nodded, a smile on his face. “The dirt saved us, man.”

John was silent a moment. Then he added. “You know, Josh, maybe we don’t have to chase happiness. Maybe it shows up when the time is right.”
They both laughed. Loud. They had beers and they talked about those old days, those gambling dreams.

They weren’t rich, not at all. But they learned something important. You don't have to chase happiness. When the time is right, it finds you.

Life in the Dirt