Theo the Street Kid and the Extraordinary Competition

Chapter 16 - Hope Refound

His head down, Theo shuffled into Wolfie's room.
She was sleeping.
Taking her warm hand, he looked at her as the late afternoon sun caressed her face.
She was so frail and delicate, like a Ming-dynasty vase.
And she was dying.
He had to save her, but he didn't have the means.
According to the doctor, Wolfie needed her $200-a-dose medication once a week for the rest of her life. But Theo had never even seen that much money in his entire lifetime.
And Theo's only chance to enter the competition had been stolen from him by Borm.
The chances of achieving his dreams had been dashed.
How on Earth was he going to pay for her treatments?
Stroking her cheeks, he whispered, "I'll find the money somehow, Wolfie, You mean the world to me, little sister. I'll find a way."
He looked down at his whistle, begging it to glow.
And glow it did.
A burst smile onto his face.
Something good was about to happen.
Outside, he heard a commotion.
The dramatic music for live breaking news was on.
His heart pounding, Theo zoomed toward the TV set.
Hospital staff, patients and visitors was crowded around it.
The same female journalist listened to her earpiece and then announced, "This just in! One young lady has decided to sell her pyrope back to the King for an undisclosed sum in the low four figures. Also, one of the candidates just failed the verification of authenticity process. She brought a topaz to the King and not a pyrope, so the King has announced that two more pyropes will be hidden somewhere in the city immediately. Once the two pyropes are found, the fourth and fifth contestants will join the race and the Extraordinary Competition will begin."
Theo's heart surged.
There were still two more pyropes out there.
There was still hope.
The crowd of people began to chat in excited tones.
His mind racing, Theo returned to Wolfie's room.
"There are still more pyropes out there," he exclaimed.
He knew that she couldn't hear him, but he wanted to say it aloud because that made it sound more real somehow.
On his chest, his whistle was still glowing. In fact, it was starting to glow even brighter and it was heating up.
Puzzled, Theo stared at it.
This had never happened before. The glow had always stopped after the good news had been delivered and had never become hot.
Theo surmised that this must mean that the good news wasn't over yet.
The heat was nearly searing his skin now, so he removed the whistle from his neck.
Clutching the string to which the whistle was attached, he walked toward the door.
The moment he approached the door, the whistle grew brighter still.
He sensed that it was leading him somewhere, acting as a sort of treasure map.
But to where and to what? he wondered.
He sensed that the whistle wouldn't stop glowing until he followed it.
And so, he left Wolfie's room and wandered around the hospital.
As he neared the exit, the whistle became as bright as the sun, and that was when he knew it was very close to wherever it was taking him.
He exited the hospital and turned to his right.
He saw the same trashcan he had eaten the stale rice cake from.
As soon as he neared the trashcan, the whistle stopped glowing.
His body nearly shaking with anticipation, Theo reached in and rifled through it.
His fingers hit a hard stone.
He pulled it out and inspected it.
It was a red gemstone.
It looked like it was a pyrope.
"Thank the Universe," he breathed out.
He wanted to cry tears of joy.
It was ironic. The same trashcan that contained the object of his lowest low now contained the object that would potentially lead him to his highest high.
This time, he didn't linger. He quickly put the gemstone in his pocket and strode into Wolfie's room.
When he had safely shut and locked the door, he took out the red gemstone for a more thorough inspection.
He wasn't 100% sure it was a pyrope, but intuition told him that it was.
He was so giddy he wanted to laugh, but he knew that would draw attention to him, so he kept his mouth shut.
He glanced at Wolfie and then gazed at the gemstone.
He clutched in his hands something that would save his dear little sister.
Now, he had two options: he could sell it or he could use it as his entry ticket to this Extraordinary Competition, whatever it was exactly.
The female anchor said that someone had sold the pyrope for an undisclosed sum in the low four figures. That wouldn't be enough money to pay for Wolfie's medication for her whole lifetime.
He had to use his pyrope as his entry ticket to the competition and risk it all, including death.
At that point, the whistle thumped against his chest.
He peeked down at it.
It had stopped glowing and was cool once again.
His magical whistle had helped him once more.
Someone out there was obviously looking out for him.
 But who?
And why?