This particular suitcase has been sitting at the bus terminal for two days now, and no one has come for it.
I actually work at the bus terminal as an attendant and conductor. I help drivers to call out to potential passengers. Not only that, but I also help them to load their luggage and all. And for the past two days now, my eyes have always been on the suitcase; we didn't want to take it into the office since we're not sure of what's in it, and we couldn't check it out for the same reason too. We thought the owner would come by very soon for it.
By the third day, it was still there; my boss had to ask me to take it in so it wouldn't get stolen or something so that anytime the owner comes for it, we would give it out.
We all couldn't be so sure of how and why someone would forget their suitcase and not come around for it; even if he/she is not sure of where they misplaced it, they could at least go to the various places they knew they went to and ask for it.
It wasn't as if the suitcase was a fancy one; it looks a little bit old and tattered. Even still, we can't just throw it away.
By the end of the third day, my colleagues voiced out about it..
"We can't keep this thing here o." Taju said.
"What if it's a time bomb inside." Grace said jokingly.
"We have to open it." Lekan, the shortest guy amongst us, said.
"Well, we've tried enough. Open it." My boss finally said after thinking for a few minutes.
Lekan moved close to it and unzipped it while the rest of us stretched out our necks from a short distance to catch a glimpse of what's inside.
Silence filled the room immediately it was opened. There was nothing worthwhile inside. No money, no wristwatch, no gold, no clothes, just some pieces of paper and envelopes. Some look new while some look yellowish and aged.
And one by one, everyone left the room and made their way home. But I wait behind, together with my boss.
He looked at the various envelopes and pieces of paper, picked one up, and read it. But because he's not really educated he asked that I come read it out to him.
So, I picked it up and read it, one after the other. The various envelopes and pieces of paper consist of letters and handwritten letters. It wasn't just any kind of letter, but love letters. Each was a response or reply to the other. Letters to and responses from lovers. That was what pulled me in, actually. It was like I was reading the love story of two people as they wrote letters to themselves right from when they were still friends, to when they were dating, to when they had misunderstandings, to when they argued, reconciled, married, and all, in short, the letter span through years.
Despite the various things the letters were about, one thing was obvious in them, and that was love. Their misunderstandings, vacations, arguments, honeymoon, loss of job, sickness, and all carried love inside of it.
The last letter I grabbed was from the woman. If it was obviously the last one written, it didn't get a response. It has the newest envelope as well, and with the date on the envelope, it was obvious it was written just a few months earlier.
That later mafe me lost balance, it was the shortest but it seems to be the heaviest.
"If you're reading this after I'm no more, just know I'm grateful for everything. Thank you so much for choosing me. Loving you was the best decision I ever made."
I stared at it for what looked like hours. It was my boss's voice that jolted me back to reality.
"Pack everything back and place the suitcase at a corner there." He said, looking a little bit down. I'm sure those words did something to him as well.
I made my way home that night thinking about the suitcase and its contents. The next day was a Sunday. It was my day off, but I decided to go to work and check the suitcase for anything, something it can be traced to.
As I got to the office, I met my boss already stepping out to load; I greeted him, sat down as if doing nothing, and stood up immediately; he went out to grab the suitcase.
I checked the contents again very well but couldn't find any address on the letters... How possible. As I was about to close the suitcase, I saw something along the suitcase lining. It was an address; it wasn't so clear, so I brought out my phone and turned on the torch to see it very well.
It wasn't that far away, so I quickly rushed out to my boss, who was about to start the car and zoom off, told him about it, and he asked me to go ahead and find the owner.
It wasn't far away from the bus terminal.
I grabbed the suitcase and took a bike to the address. I got there, knocked on the gate, and an old man answered me. I greeted him and was about to tell him my purpose for coming when his eyes landed on the suitcase and his countenance changed.
"My suitcase." He said, almost shouting.
I didn't know what to do or say, so I just handed it over to him.
He offered me a cup of water, which I refused, but then he insisted, so I sat on the bench just beside the gate as he beckoned on a small boy of about 12 years to get me water. Maybe his grandchild... I can't say.
"I've been looking everywhere for this." He said as he sat next to me.
Then he continued.
"My wife kept every letter I sent her, and I did the same too; for years we made sure none of it went missing. She died three months ago." He said as tears filled his eyes.
I told him where the suitcase was found and how we expected the owner to come for it.
"I'm always with my wife; that's why, since she died, I always go out with this suitcase anytime I'm going out." He added and sighed.
"Thank you for bringing her home."
As I left that day, I realized how valuable that suitcase was to him. It was his own treasure.
And sometimes the most valuable things cannot be bought. This is a piece of him, a piece of someone he loved, a piece of their heart. And I'm glad I was able to return it
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