TRUTH found over a lost bag !
It was mid October 2014 and I was travelling to Aarhus, a small sleepy city in Denmark from Kolkata for work. The international flight ended at Copenhagen where there was a lay over of 4 hours before I could catch a domestic flight to Aarhus.
After getting down from the aeroplane I felt hungry. I had my hand-bag, my camera bag and a trolley bag containing my office laptop as my hand luggage. The checked in baggage , thankfully was getting directly moved onto the next flight. Being a vegetarian means, first you need to scoop around the area to find the most suitable vegetarian options (Sometimes it means emphatically explaining to the shopkeeper “Egg is not vegetarian, Fish is not vegetarian!”) Finally I could zero in on the shop, queued up, bought food and the coffee and settled down for some relaxation.
So I was sitting in the airport , enjoying a late afternoon lunch with coffee and having a video chat over my tab with my folks back at India ! . The airport seemed nice and warm and somehow I did not feel much tiredness too. I was having a good time !
With around 1 hour left for the next flight, I decided it is time to go, bid bye-bye to my family , closed my tab, put it into my hand-bag, adjusted my camera bag and bent down to pick up my trolley bag . Voila !!! WHERE IS IT ??? Where is the trolley bag containing my office laptop ?!!! My hands turned cold, my mouth dried up and my heart was skipping a few beats now and then ! I can’t seem to find the trolley bag near my seat !!! I started walking backwards (I mean in time, not really on the airport) I saw myself coming out of the plane with the trolley , going to the loo with the trolley, loitering around in the airport with the trolley, doing some window shopping with the trolley , queuing up in front of the coffee shop with the trolley , buying the food with the trolley, walking out of the coffee shop with the trolley… NO hang on ! I walked in the coffee shop with the trolley but did not walk out of it with the trolley ! BANG ON ! That is where I left my trolley containing my office laptop. Run run run ! Gasping and panting I reached the coffee shop and asked the guy over the counter “Did you see my trolley bag ?” When the guy gave me a blank look.
I told him “Look I was here an hour before and ordered some veg stuff , do you remember? I left my trolley bag here. Do you know where is it?” The guy nodded and said “yeah yeah we found some bag and handed over to the security” I asked “where is the security ? “ The guy gave me some direction “Go straight , and then left , right, right , left …” I again ran , ran , ran ! I found a “May I help you desk” The lady seemed like a divine mother incarnate to me that time. I frantically asked her “Where do I find the security ?” The lady explained to me patiently and finally I could reach the security office! I caught hold of the first person I saw there and just blabbered “I left my trolley containing a laptop at the starbucks coffee shop. The guy said he handed over to you guys. Do you have it ?” The guy looked like a zen monk to me and with a very calm voice, asked me to stand in the corner while he continued with his work! I thought to myself “What is happening ? My heart is almost coming out my mouth and this guy is behaving as if I am seeking enlightenment!” Then suddenly another another person entered the room and they talked to each other in Danish. The second person summoned me over to a secluded area and showed a set of bags that have been recovered. My heart sank when I realised that my bag was not there ! I guess the man must have felt compassion after seeing my face and called someone over phone. I could not understand what were they talking as they were speaking in Danish. And then … he entered … one of the most charming men I have seen in my life ! Tall , well built and and very very good looking with a gentle charming smile. For a few moments, I simply forgot my anguish ! He came directly came to me asked “So young lady how can I help you ?” For the first time I felt someone was considering my problem as his own ! Just those words brought immense relief to me. I blurted out my entire saga ! How I forgot to take my bag from my coffee shop , how I realised the bag was missing after good 1 hour … etc etc. He listened to me patiently and asked me when is my next flight. It was another 45 minutes to go for my next flight. Then he said “Ok come on follow me! “ and started marching out. Like a sincere follower, I started following him though I had no idea where he was taking me. He was walking taking in big strides , while I was literally sprinting to keep pace with him. I realised he was taking me out of the airport. We came out of the airport and entered a nearby police station. The first (and hopefully the last) police station I entered on foreign soil. There were 3 very grumpy men sitting inside doing some paperwork. Looking at their faces, I felt they all of them had very difficult time in the loo in the morning ! My “saviour" started talking to them in Danish (I believe he was explaining to them my situation). One of them nudged a bit and went and brought out what looked like Yaaaaaaay it was my bag !!! My dearest and my most loveable bag ! The police officer put the bag in front of me and said the weirdest thing I could imagine . “Can you prove that it is your bag !” I was thinking in my head “What this guy is talking about ? What proof does he want ? Should I just dance in ecstasy in front of him with my bag. May be he will realise it is indeed my bag !” But on the outside, I said with a steely determination in my voice “Yes of course I can prove it it is my bag. It has got a black laptop with turtle stickers on its top. The brand is Lenovo. I also know the password to open it , because it is my office laptop. Apart from 1 laptop, it has got 2 t shirts, and a pant and a pair of socks” (Though I was saying this with total confidence, my heart was still pumping away because it was not sure where the “proof” will be enough to melt this grumpy man ! The grumpy man did open the bag and saw the black laptop and the turtle sticker and thankfully he let me take the bag !!! It seems, left over in the coffee-shop bag had been directly sent to the nearby police station, as it happens sometimes.
I told him “Look I was here an hour before and ordered some veg stuff , do you remember? I left my trolley bag here. Do you know where is it?” The guy nodded and said “yeah yeah we found some bag and handed over to the security” I asked “where is the security ? “ The guy gave me some direction “Go straight , and then left , right, right , left …” I again ran , ran , ran ! I found a “May I help you desk” The lady seemed like a divine mother incarnate to me that time. I frantically asked her “Where do I find the security ?” The lady explained to me patiently and finally I could reach the security office! I caught hold of the first person I saw there and just blabbered “I left my trolley containing a laptop at the starbucks coffee shop. The guy said he handed over to you guys. Do you have it ?” The guy looked like a zen monk to me and with a very calm voice, asked me to stand in the corner while he continued with his work! I thought to myself “What is happening ? My heart is almost coming out my mouth and this guy is behaving as if I am seeking enlightenment!” Then suddenly another another person entered the room and they talked to each other in Danish. The second person summoned me over to a secluded area and showed a set of bags that have been recovered. My heart sank when I realised that my bag was not there ! I guess the man must have felt compassion after seeing my face and called someone over phone. I could not understand what were they talking as they were speaking in Danish. And then … he entered … one of the most charming men I have seen in my life ! Tall , well built and and very very good looking with a gentle charming smile. For a few moments, I simply forgot my anguish ! He came directly came to me asked “So young lady how can I help you ?” For the first time I felt someone was considering my problem as his own ! Just those words brought immense relief to me. I blurted out my entire saga ! How I forgot to take my bag from my coffee shop , how I realised the bag was missing after good 1 hour … etc etc. He listened to me patiently and asked me when is my next flight. It was another 45 minutes to go for my next flight. Then he said “Ok come on follow me! “ and started marching out. Like a sincere follower, I started following him though I had no idea where he was taking me. He was walking taking in big strides , while I was literally sprinting to keep pace with him. I realised he was taking me out of the airport. We came out of the airport and entered a nearby police station. The first (and hopefully the last) police station I entered on foreign soil. There were 3 very grumpy men sitting inside doing some paperwork. Looking at their faces, I felt they all of them had very difficult time in the loo in the morning ! My “saviour" started talking to them in Danish (I believe he was explaining to them my situation). One of them nudged a bit and went and brought out what looked like Yaaaaaaay it was my bag !!! My dearest and my most loveable bag ! The police officer put the bag in front of me and said the weirdest thing I could imagine . “Can you prove that it is your bag !” I was thinking in my head “What this guy is talking about ? What proof does he want ? Should I just dance in ecstasy in front of him with my bag. May be he will realise it is indeed my bag !” But on the outside, I said with a steely determination in my voice “Yes of course I can prove it it is my bag. It has got a black laptop with turtle stickers on its top. The brand is Lenovo. I also know the password to open it , because it is my office laptop. Apart from 1 laptop, it has got 2 t shirts, and a pant and a pair of socks” (Though I was saying this with total confidence, my heart was still pumping away because it was not sure where the “proof” will be enough to melt this grumpy man ! The grumpy man did open the bag and saw the black laptop and the turtle sticker and thankfully he let me take the bag !!! It seems, left over in the coffee-shop bag had been directly sent to the nearby police station, as it happens sometimes.
WOW what a relief ! While I was coming back with my “saviour” he flashed his charming smile to me and asked “Relieved , aren’t you? Now we have to get you back to your flight in time!” I said with a lot of gratitude “How can I ever thank you enough ? I do not have any words to thank you! And I feel so astonished that I could ever do it like this ! Like keep my bag away and be unmindful about it ! “ The came the words which literally silenced me for quite a while
“Oh these things keep happening all the time ! This is not the first time it has happened , and you can be sure, that this is not the last time either !”
He said it in a way and a particular calmness that struck me. It was akin to someone telling me “What are you making a big deal about ? Some happenings ? Look back and see , so many of them have happened in past and so many will happen in future too. Yet , you still are around and the world still continues”
Lost in this thought, a certain amount calmness descended on me and my guilt of being carelessness got lifted . Needless to say my charming saviour helped in all possible way to make sure I could board my next flight in time !!!
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