Missing ring: Third time a charm? (Still travel related :))

A sweet story of a ring that helped me affirm my belief in instincts and tiny wonders that occur in our lives, but we may not be paying attention to it.

This ruby gold ring (not too expensive) that I got with my mom on my India trip last year has some emotional significance for me. It was also a substitute for my earlier two engagement rings (the first one I misplaced and the second one someone took while I was travelling). Since then, I’ve always kept this ring on and had resolved that if I lost this, I’d stop buying rings altogether (I usually don’t like spending money on jewelry anyways!).

So, a couple of months back, I was flying from Seattle airport to Orlando, and I misplaced this ring during the security check. One thing I like to do that is not necessary is to take off any ornaments I might be wearing at the airport security and put it in my bag with other valuables, such as phone, watch etc. so that it does not trigger beep when I pass through the screening. As you can guess, this is not something I will repeat ever (especially this time when I had this inner feeling, ’don't take it off, you'll likely misplace it’).

Once the screening was over, I took my bag and tried to find my ring in the inside pocket of my purse where I had thought I had put it, but it was not there. I examined the entire purse and emptied everything but still no luck. I informed the TSA agents, and they also searched the screening area again, but it wasn’t found, and I left with heavy heart as I didn't have much time to catch the flight. Throughout the six-hour flight, I felt guilty and wondered if the ring had slipped out of my purse silently and if I’d by any chance see it again in my purse. My kids who were so excited about their first visit to Walt Disney, suddenly became sad to see that this bothered me that much, so I did my best to forget about it as we arrived and got to our Airbnb for the next 8+ days.

That night, I searched inside my purse for the ring again a couple of times and explained the situation to my mom. She recommended that I file a claim at the airport’s lost and found department if they had one. I really questioned whether this would work, but I followed her suggestion anyways. I filled out an online form on the website with some information about the item I lost and when and where I lost it. I did not have a photo to upload but the website gave me a reference # for tracking purpose. Their lost and found department emailed me regularly for a week, saying they were searching for it, but nothing matched the description, so I stopped hoping for it. However, I had a feeling that I would find the ring in my bag when I got home, because it was a lucky charm for me. (And, I had never cared so much about losing any other thing before.)

Apart from this event, we enjoyed ourselves in Orlando, and I did not think about the ring much until we arrived in Seattle and saw the lost and found counter at the airport purely by chance. I say that for two reasons: 1) I had never noticed a lost and found counter before, though we have been to the airport countless times, to realize you only notice something if it is on your mind somehow. 2) The taxi was supposed to pick us up from Gate 20 right outside our luggage claim exit (if I remember correctly and, at the last minute, the plan changed to pick us up from Gate 10, because the other gate was too busy for pick-ups). So, when we unwillingly started walking more from one gate to the other, that is when I spotted this lost and found counter.

Happy Ending :)!

I went to that counter, which was mostly vacant, and enquired about my missing ring. The man at the counter told me to show him the claim number and sketch the ring, since I didn't have a picture of it. After that, he brought few boxes filled with all kinds of jewelry nicely packed in individual zip lock packets to identify.

Honestly, I had little hope, but I still waited eagerly for the guy to bring the boxes and show me the packets so that I could locate my ring. I was also worried that the taxi driver would not wait for us much longer. The guy at the counter patiently showed me more than 50 packets from one box, but none of them was mine. I was about to give up and leave when he opened another box and started taking out more packets. And there it was, the third packet in that particular box had my lost lucky ring. He was also amazed that I found it, and I proved it to him (though he didn’t ask for it), by showing that it fit perfectly on my finger and matched the description I had provided earlier.

Also, I informed the cab driver why we were late and we appreciated his patience. He of course got a nice tip from us when we reached our destination. I have been wearing this ring ever since that experience and this outcome affirms what I already believed that ‘what’s meant to be will always be’ and, ‘don't ever give-up without trying’.