Soon as I got home, my cousin, who was on a quick visit to see mum, pointed towards a wallet lying on our scattered table in lobby . He said something like, 'Go. Shop!'. Being funniest of the lot, unsurprisingly, he's almost never taken seriously. I guess I gave a pretty puzzled look. I was dead tired, driving my way through routine traffic mania. That time, it was of least interest to me. I sank myself in a chair, my feet rolled up for some heaven-like joy. He continued, '....I found it on way. Seems like some girl dropped it in a jiffy'. My look must have changed a little by then. Well, just a little. Passively, I felt sorry for whoever she was. I extended my hand to open the black little thing, and found a couple of bank ATMs, identity cards, few 'pp size' photos of the girl, and lots of bits & pieces of paper - visiting cards, paper cuttings, and a picture of God. She seemed to be from a very humble background. There wasn't much cash & ATM slips conveyed the same. But what seemed meager to me could be much for her, I thought. I snapped my fixed phone and dialed the number on her ID card. Much to my disappointment, the number wasn't in use. She seemed an inter-city student. Poor thing might have panicked. It was 8 at night and I wasn't sure if someone would respond at her institute's number. Still I did. Only to receive a guy who was too lazy to check records for her current number. Wonder, when it comes to others, we conveniently give a damn! Anyways, I knew I would find her.
The next day I dialed her bank that refused to disclose any details, despite my trying to convince they can take my details to verify. I, then rang a number from a visiting card, who was an employee at the same bank. He was helpful and called me back after a few hours, only to tell me the account was not of his branch. Hence, it would take a while. I was thinking of the poor girl. She had her, what seemed like house keys, too in the wallet. Maybe she would've broken the lock to get in last night? As I was fumbling to find some more contact details, I got a phone Sim card inside. Wasting no time, I put it another cell phone. Bingo!! I got her 'home' number. At the other end, the voice tone changed from curiosity to happiness, followed by lots of thank-you's. I gave my number /address, and felt glad and relieved together.
Soon, the rightful owner came to collect her little treasure. Very much like her picture. Her smile inadvertently bought one on my face too. A satisfaction you seldom encounter in everyday chaos. She thanked me more than I thought I deserved. It was nice, though. Guess, now whenever she looks at her little black purse, she would consider it her lucky charm, .....and perhaps think of me.
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