Page 32 of Alluring Adventure

Ols

All good. I can start physiotherapy next week.

Me

That’s fantastic!

Ols

Have to go. Prison guard is forcing me back into the car and you know there’s no reception on the wayback. I’ll text you this evening so you can tell me what’s happening in your life.

What’s happening in my life is that I have to go somewhere that is even further away from him than I am now.

Me

No probs. Speak later.

I drop my phone on the coffee table and pull out the folder Mark gave me. I look at the list of visas I’ll need, which will probably take around three weeks to get sorted so I will have to get my arse in gear. The trip is leaving at the beginning of November so that would give me another week as back up in case there are any delays in the embassies. Doable.

I open the bookmarks on my phone browser and click on the link for the crowdfunding page. My jaw almost drops when I see that more than £10k was donated this morning alone. I open social media and see that the posts from the marketing department are going viral. They did do a great job with the reel using good stock images and a few quotes from my article.

I open up the FMR website and find their telephone number. They’re volunteers so I’m not sure if the office is manned, but it’s worth a try.

“Fellside Mountain Rescue, Dan speaking, how may I help you?”

“Oh my god Dan, I’m so glad it’s you,” I burst out when I hear the voice that I could probably pick out from a thousand people. What stays with you is strange, and the memory of Suzie and Dan talking calmly to us will never leave me.

“Sorry, may I ask who I’m talking to?”

“I’m sorry. Hi, this is Keeley… Oliver and I crashed our paraglider a few weeks ago and—” I’m starting to wonder if he would actually remember me. They must rescue hundreds of people every year.

“Of course, hi, how are you?” His voice is immediately friendlier when he realises he’s not talking to a complete nutter.

“I'm good, thank you. I’m reaching out because I posted a blog after the rescue mission about… about FMR and also set up a crowdfunding page.”

“Oh, that’s very generous of you. I can help you with that. I run the fundraising department for FMR. And when I say department, I mean me,” he chuckles.

“Least I could do. Anyhow, we have hit the target. Donations are still coming in so I want to wait a few more weeks, but where do I transfer the money once I close the campaign?” I lean back on my sofa and put my feet up on the coffee table. I open my laptop and take down the details Dan gives me in a new document.

“Can you tell me roughly how much it is so I can look out for it?”

“Sure, hold on,” I wedge the phone between my ear and my shoulder and check the total

“As it stands we are just shy of twenty five thousand.” Holy shit, even in that short time another six thousand has come in.

There is silence on the other line.

“Hello, Dan?” I lift my phone from my ear to check if we were disconnected but I can see the call is still on.

“Dan?”

“Did you say twenty-five thousand?”

“Yes.”

“How? That is amazing, thank you! The most we ever get from crowdfunding is two or three thousand.” He sounds incredulous and I have to smile.

“My blog is quite popular.”

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