I’ll tell you the story of a magic marble later. Not today.

We were on our way to a meeting in Kathmandu when Hope wandered into the middle of the street. She looked as though she might collapse at any moment. Together, we brought her to the truck and rushed to AMC hospital. They began supportive care immediately and we all took turns gently petting and assuring her that everything would be okay.

There was a moment when she allowed herself to relax on the examination table. She seemed to believe she had a chance now. I believed it too. We left her in the hospital that evening after several prayers, but Hope wouldn’t make it through the night. I received the news while at a dinner meeting. I tried to keep it together during that call, sitting among several colleagues. They all disappeared for a moment. I failed Hope. Everything else receded.

We can’t stop there, can we. We cannot let our failures defeat us. There is another set of eyes in the darkness, waiting for a chance. Maybe a chance is all they’ll ever get, but they deserve it.

It’s 2:16AM. Karma is a homeless dog in Nepal, left skeletal and broken by a careless driver. She’s had two orthopedic surgeries already- both failed. Today she’ll have an amputation. I’m praying, or casting subliminal spells. Whatever it takes to help this girl survive. After everything she’s endured, please let her win this one.

To every being waiting for relief, may a kind hand pluck you from your pain and light the road to better days.