Prospects

Arriving in Los Angeles intent on donating her kidney to an unwell friend, She contemplates the powerful magnetism of California. Like the gold-diggers, the health-seekers and the movie moguls before her, She had come to the state as a young woman to seek her fortune in ‘the industry’, but her dreams were not fulfilled.What had become of the men who did not strike gold, those who could not be cured of their ailments, the ones who did not find fame? Where are the failures? Where are the women like her?Before leaving London, her brother had said, “Most people would give an arm and a leg for a month in LA to revisit their youth. You’re willing to give a kidney.” Perhaps he was right. There are no heroes.In the lounge of a luxury hotel, observing the clientele, She asks: Why are they so lucky? Why are they so worthy? Why haven’t they offered their kidneys, spare bedrooms or a helping hand to the poor, the sick and the needy?There is an oppo