My knees clacked together as I approached the receptionist’s desk. It was a simple question. But of course, the answer could cause great sorrow or relief, depending on what it was. So insurmountable was my plight that I considered turning around and running until I found a suitable spot in the wilderness to sit down and decompose.

I lost my luggage.

Contained in the pink and white ‘Hello Kitty’ suitcase was the computer which stored all of my work files. In hindsight, it was probably a bad idea to put it in my luggage in the first place. I should have stored it in my carry-on, but I ran out of room and had no time to rearrange my luggage to store it. So, I grabbed the first suitcase I could find, which was unfortunately my daughter Lesley’s old camping bag from when she was ten. But time was ticking away. So, into the children’s case the oh-so-important laptop went.

Stopping in my tracks, I reconsidered whether I needed to ask the receptionist anyways. Perhaps I had just missed it on the way in. I walked back to the luggage carousel to check if it was there, nonchalantly scanning the multitudes of suitcases. I sighed when I realized the truth: it was not there. Dejectedly, I dragged myself to the counter.

“Hello, how can I help you?” said the receptionist, her customer service smile like the Sun on a hot, sticky, humid day.

“Hello,” I began. “I’ve lost my luggage, and I was wondering if you have any information on it.”

“Alright. Can you give me a description of the luggage in question?”

I gulped. “W-well, you see, it’s… a pink and white ‘Hello Kitty’ suitcase. The name on it probably says Lesley.”

“I see. And where did you fly from?”

“The United States. Missouri.”

“Alright, I’ll contact our airports there. In the meantime, I’ll make an announcement.”

My hands, caked with sweat, began to shake as she reached for the microphone. I tried to stop her, but no words would escape from my mouth. I watched her raise it up to her mouth, sealing my fate.

“Attention, passengers. If you find a pink and white ‘Hello Kitty’ suitcase for a man named Lesley, please bring it up to the front desk. If you find a man named Lesley’s pink and white ‘Hello Kitty’ suitcase, please bring it up to the front desk.”