Could You Help Me?

Elena arrived in New York on a hot Tuesday in July. She had a map, a bottle of water and one goal: she wanted to see the Statue of Liberty before five o'clock. But the city was big, loud and very, very busy.

Outside the station, she stopped a man in a suit. "Excuse me, could you tell me where the ferry is?" The man didn't stop. He didn't even look at her. "Okay," Elena thought. "He is in a hurry."

She tried a woman with two dogs. "Excuse me, would you mind helping me? I'm looking for the ferry to the Statue of Liberty." "Sorry, I'm late!" the woman said, and the dogs pulled her away.

Elena sat down on a bench near the park. She was hot and a little sad. A young man with a guitar was playing music next to her. When the song finished, she said, "That was beautiful. Could I ask you something?"

"Of course," he said. His name was Marcus, and he played in that park every afternoon. Elena explained her problem. "Shall I show you the way?" Marcus asked. "It's only ten minutes from here, and I'm finished for today."

They walked together through the busy streets. Marcus told her about the city, and Elena told him about her town in Spain. At the ferry, she said, "Would you mind taking a photo of me?" "I'd be happy to," he said.

Elena saw the Statue of Liberty at four thirty. In the photo, she is smiling, and the statue is behind her. "New York is not so busy," she wrote to her mother that night. "You just have to ask the right person."