Finding solutions to problems can be difficult. Even the simplest ones can become complicated.

 

However, the search may make our sometimes-boring lives more interesting, as we seek an answer to the question . . .

 

 

What’s Inside?

 

I removed my black suitcase from the top shelf of the closet in the bedroom, so I could pack for my holiday trip to Las Vegas. As I placed it on the bed, I could hear something rolling around in it. But I thought I’d emptied it before putting it away after my last trip. I don’t know why I just didn’t open it to see what caused the mysterious rattling I heard, but I didn’t.

 

Strange things ran through my mind. Could I have left my missing six-inch, high-powered flashlight in it—the one that saved me from being lost on the dark road in the mountains I walked down last summer? Or might it be the open bag of pistachios I thought I left at my daughter’s home? I sniffed it to see if an odor permeated the case, but I couldn’t smell anything.

 

My mind jumped from one possibility to the next. The challenge of the guessing game seemed to stimulate my otherwise lethargic brain. “Oh, I know what it is,” I screeched. It’s the locket I bought for Jane. Before I could give it to her, she broke off our relationship. I had to bury the past. And the suitcase was as good a place as any to entomb it.

 

No, it couldn’t be the locket. I found it three weeks after the breakup, under the bedroom dresser where I’d thrown it, after I’d hung up the phone on her. If not the locket, then what? Wait, it’s coming to me. It must be my sunglasses. They went missing after my drive up the coast. I searched the car for hours, but couldn’t find them. I must have put them in the suitcase.

 

By now you must think I’m going crazy . . . that I’ve lost my marbles. Yes, I’ll look in the case. My marbles could be in there. No, I’m not nuts. Just bored. My run of the mill job as manager of the Nature’s Way Grocery Store doesn’t turn me on anymore. I need some excitement in my life. Maybe I’ll rob a bank. That’s it! The thing bouncing around in the case is my gun. I knew I hid it somewhere.

 

However, I don’t even own a gun. But you knew that. Well, time to get packed, so I can get a good night’s sleep. The plane for Vegas leaves at 10:00 am tomorrow. I took hold of “my black bag of mystery’s” zipper. The moment of truth awaited me. A bit nervous, I pulled it around the top of the case and took a deep breath.

 

I began to lift the top up, but then the doorbell rang. It dropped back into place, as I spun around and ran to the door. I turned the handle and pulled it open. Standing before me was a smiling Joe, my travelling companion. He held a black suitcase, identical to mine, in his left hand. “Hey, Gary,” he sputtered. “I started to pack for our trip tomorrow and realized I had your suitcase. We must’ve switched them when we were packing up to come home from our Florida trip. And, by the way, I heard something rattling around inside.”

 

Oh, my God! I’ll be damned, if I have to go down that path again. I took the suitcase from him and placed it next to the door. “Let’s go into the kitchen and have a drink.” We sat at the table and chatted about what we would do in Vegas. After shooting the breeze for about twenty minutes, I excused myself, grabbed “my” suitcase, from where it sat next to the door, and hustled back to the bedroom to make the exchange. Upon returning to the kitchen, I walked Joe, with “his” suitcase in hand, to the door. “See you in the morning,” I chanted.

 

After Joe left, I went back into the bedroom, unzipped my suitcase, and, without hesitation, lifted the top. There to my amazement, I found a small package wrapped in bright yellow and red striped paper. I picked it up with my right hand, moved it to my left, and back to my right again. What the hell is this? I muttered. Then I placed it on the bed and stared at it. Well, it’s not going to open itself, I thought. I started to unwrap it, but feared what I might find. Finally, with the paper removed, I took the top off the box.

 

Inside was a silver medallion engraved with the words, “Your future is in my hands.” What's this all about? Then I saw a piece of notepaper that had fallen out of the package onto the floor. I picked it up and read, “Someone’s got to breathe life back into your mundane existence, so it might as well be me. See you tomorrow for our next journey. And, by the way, Merry Christmas.”

 

Wow! I didn’t see that coming. Nice gesture. But it didn’t clear anything up. How did the suitcases become switched in the first place? My nametag was affixed to the handle of mine. And what was rolling around in the other one? This left me more confused than ever—but certainly not bored.

 

 

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