A weird story idea.
Why do these things have to hit me so ridiculously late at night?
And the story does has a point, by the way.
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A young couple runs in a marathon. They're both excellent runners, and they have lots of fun testing each other's limits and trying to beat personal records. They cross the finish line together, and it's a photo finish - they both win.
Twenty minutes after the race, the boy and girl get in a playful argument about who really won the race. The argument intensifies, however, and both soon realize that their relationship has been going downhill for months: they're just too competitive to put up with each other for very long. The boy storms off, and the girl sits down angrily on a park bench.
She looks up, and sees the marathon coordinator approaching her with a check in his hand, looking distressed. He quickly explains that various corporations were sponsoring the marathon, and promised to double the amount of money they donated to charity if a photo finish occurred. Though normally he would deposit the check himself, he just got a call that his mother is very ill - the doctors think she might die, and he has to go catch a plane immediately.
The marathon coordinator gives her a card with the time and address of another charity event. He tells the girl to deposit the check into her own account, withdraw it in cash, and go to this event in nine days to give them the money.
The girl protests, saying that she's worried about looking after such a large amount, but the man shoves the check in her hand and runs off. She's so stunned that by the time she thinks of chasing after him, he's already hopped into a taxi.
The girl goes to the bank and deposits the check. This bank that she uses was robbed recently; since she's wary of trusting its security, she withdraws the cash immediately. Worried about the suspicious characters in her apartment block, she keeps the money with her all the time.
Two days after the marathon, the girl is stretched to her limit. Her parents have been nagging her about paying back a large amount of money they loaned her, unaware that she used it for things like expensive running shoes, dates with her (now ex-) boyfriend, and the marathon's entrance fee.
Her friends surprise her with a little extra cash they raised among themselves, and a trip to a casino. Just as she's starting to relax and have fun, she runs low on money, and is hesitant to spend more of her own. But... she does has that money which she and her ex-boyfriend raised for charity.
Is the money really hers?
Does she have the right to spend it?
If she promised herself to donate the money she wins at the casino to charity, would she still have the right to spend the funds?
What if she's 100% sure that she'll win the game and NOTHING could possibly go wrong?
What if the girl tells herself that she hadn't really intended to raise the money by running in the race, so she should be able to get rid of it however she wants? She could always run in another race and raise money again - maybe even more money than the original amount.
What if she decided to invest the money in the stock market, telling herself that she'll donate the same amount later when she's more financially secure?
What if the girl has heard rumors that the charity has been flooded with funds recently, and is too understaffed to deal with the large amounts of money pouring in? Should she she spend the money now, and perhaps donate some later?
What if she overhears a suspicious conversation from her neighbors, and worries that by keeping the money she’s at risk of being robbed and possibly hurt or killed?
What if the girl decides to only use the money to reimburse her parents, pay her rent, and buy necessary things like food? That way, she'll be preventing her mom and dad from worrying about her or having to pay more money to support her. Is that the responsible option?
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Just to clarify: NO, I’m not going through this myself, nor do I personally know anyone who is. But I know that thousands face this choice.
(My opinion is that the girl should keep the money with her, and at the end of the nine days send it out to - hopefully - do some good in the world. The matter gets more complicated when the girl is at risk, though; I’m still not sure of my opinion if it came to that, but I think in that case it would really be up to the girl - and her boyfriend if applicable.)
I'd love to hear any thoughts on this. I'm thinking of printing it and giving it to the youth minister at my church or something.
Edited to add: It's an allegory about abortion, if you didn't catch that.