Anna Loses Her Suitcase

Anna's plane landed in Rome just after four in the afternoon. She was tired, but happy. She had five days in the city, a small hotel near the old town, and a long list of places she wanted to photograph.

She followed the other passengers to the baggage belt and waited. Bags came out one by one. A black one, a red one, a big green one with stickers on it. People took their bags and left, one after another.

After twenty minutes, the belt stopped. Anna was still standing there, alone, with no suitcase.

"Okay," she said quietly. "Don't panic."

She looked around and saw a small office with a sign that said Lost Luggage. A woman with short dark hair was sitting behind the desk.

"Hello," Anna said. "I think my suitcase is lost. I just came in on the flight from London, and it didn't come out."

"I'm sorry to hear that," the woman said. "I'm Kate. Let's see what we can do. Do you have your boarding pass and your baggage tag?"

Anna found them in her backpack and gave them to her. Kate typed for a moment and looked at her screen.

"Good news and bad news," she said. "The good news is that we know where your suitcase is. The bad news is that it's still in London. It didn't get on the plane."

Anna closed her eyes for a second. "When will it arrive?"

"There's another flight tonight. If everything goes well, your suitcase will be here tomorrow morning. We can send it to your hotel."

"That would be great, thank you."

Kate gave her a form. "Can you describe your suitcase for me?"

"It's a medium suitcase, dark blue, with four wheels. There's a yellow ribbon on the handle, so I can find it easily."

Kate smiled. "Not so easily today."

Anna laughed for the first time since the plane landed. She wrote the name and address of her hotel on the form, and her phone number.

"Here's your reference number," Kate said, and wrote it on a small card. "If you want to check where your bag is, you can call this number or look online. And keep your receipts. If you need to buy a few things tonight, the airline will pay you back."

"Really?"

"Yes. Things like a toothbrush, a T-shirt, the basics. Nothing too crazy."

Anna thanked her and walked out of the airport with only her backpack. The most important thing, her camera, was safe inside it. The rest was just clothes.

At the hotel, she told the man at the desk the whole story. He listened and shook his head.

"It happens more than you think," he said. "There's a shop on the corner. It's open until nine."

In the shop, Anna bought a toothbrush, a small bottle of shampoo, a T-shirt with a picture of an ice cream on it, and a pair of socks. She put the receipt carefully in her wallet.

That evening, she walked around the old town in her new ice cream T-shirt. The streets were warm and busy, and the light was soft and golden. She took more photos than she planned. Without a heavy bag to unpack, the evening felt strangely free.

The next morning, at half past nine, someone knocked on her door. It was the man from the desk, with a dark blue suitcase and a yellow ribbon.

"I think this belongs to you," he said.

Anna smiled and took it. "Thank you. I missed it."

She opened it, looked at all her clothes, and then looked at her ice cream T-shirt on the chair.

She decided to wear the T-shirt one more day.