Green Kauri Comics · Story 003

Free Parking

A story about hidden costs, time and the saving that costs the thing you came for.

Story 003

When the cheapest choice becomes the most expensive.

Max drives past a $3 parking space to find a free one before meeting a new client. Kauri keeps count of the time.

Featuring Max, Kauri, Kiwi and Ted.

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Four-panel comic titled Free Parking. Max circles New Brighton streets to avoid a three-dollar parking fee, finds a free space just as his new client cancels, then tallies a $181.20 loss and still chooses water over a three-dollar coffee.
A Green Kauri Story

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On a shopping street in New Brighton, Christchurch, Max arrives outside Ted and Robyn’s neighbourhood café with Kauri and a sleeping Kiwi. A new client is waiting for him at 11:00.

  1. Panel 1 — Three dollars is too much

    At 10:54 a.m., Max’s car stops beside an empty parking space outside the café. The sign reads P60 — $3 per hour. Through the window, a table is reserved for 11:00 — New Client. Max points up the road: “Three dollars? The next street is free.” Kauri, holding the new client folder, says, “Your meeting starts in six minutes.”

  2. Panel 2 — Still cheaper

    It is 11:07 a.m. The car’s navigation shows three loops and an extra 6.4 km. The $3 space outside the café is still empty, and the new client is waiting at the window. Kauri says, “We’ve passed the café three times.” Max replies, “Still cheaper than parking.”

  3. Panel 3 — Found it

    At 11:19 a.m., Max finally pulls into a space far from the café marked Free P30. “Free parking. Found it,” he says. At the same moment, his phone lights up with a message from the new client: “I had to leave. I’ve booked someone else.” In the back seat, Kiwi opens one eye.

  4. Panel 4 — The most expensive free

    At 11:25 a.m., Max sits alone at the reserved table. His laptop shows the sum: parking saved +$3.00, fuel used −$4.20, potential fee lost −$180.00, total −$181.20. Kauri sets the unused New Client folder beside him, and Kiwi sleeps on a parking map. Ted arrives with a smile: “Coffee? Three dollars.” Max answers, “Water.”

A saving is not a bargain when it costs the thing you came for.
Characters
Max, Kauri, Kiwi and Ted
Setting
New Brighton, Christchurch, New Zealand
Themes
Hidden costs, opportunity cost, time and habit
Published

Green Kauri Comics

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