Case of The Missing Jewellery
31 October 2005 (Monday) – Arequipa, Peru
I wanted to show Fernando the glass jewellery I made and searched for them in my bag.
THEY WERE GONE!!!!!!!!!!
Shit!!! What could have happened?? I took everything out of my bag and there was no glass jewellery! I could not believe it. No wonder, I had found my bag ransacked last night. So, indeed, someone had been through my bag and had taken the glass jewellery.
But the questions were WHO, WHEN and HOW?
Fernando and I discussed the possibilities. The lock on my bag was not broken. The bus company could not have done it, as they would not have the opportunity to know my code on the lock, and even have time to slowly search through the bag. If they wish to steal something, they are better off just carting the entire bag away.
The next possibility was at Teresa’s sister’s apartment. I had opened my bag to put in my money. At that time, I had a quick glance and did not notice that my red fleece jacket was near the top of my bag. But last night when I opened my bag, my red fleece jacket, which I usually put at the bottom of my bag, was right at the top. So, the theft must had happened between the time when I put my money inside and when I collected my bag in the night.
But why not take the money?, was Fernando’s question. True, how strange.
Fernando called Teresa to tell her what had happened. I did not believe she had anything to do with it, as she was working the whole day yesterday. But perhaps, she would be able to suspect someone. Teresa was thoroughly surprised, and insisted it was impossible for this to have happened. Still, she would check with her mother to see if they saw anyone near my bag yesterday.
Teresa later dropped by Fernando’s apartment and insisted that all that had happened was impossible. My lock was not broken, and if there was a thief in the house, why did he not steal the hi-fi set in the living room? Why not the money in the bag? Why just the stupid glass jewellery? She inisted no one, except the family, came into the apartment. Anyway, there was nothing I could do as I had no proof, and we had nothing else to add, so we said farewell.
I felt really horrid! These were my own personal creations!! I had felt so proud of them, thinking of giving them as gifts to my friends or even selling them, if I could. Gosh, this is my second time in Arequipa and I had been robbed AGAIN!! Fernando’s best friend, Antonio, had arrived at this moment, and we went through all the possibilities again. It was strange that the thief would take the glass jewellery and NOT the money. So, could it have happened BEFORE I put my money in? No, like I said, my bag was not ransacked before I put my money in. But, why would the thief not take my money?
Antonio, who is a Reiki therapist, told me to forget it all. Thinking through these negative thoughts would just attract more negative energy to me. Yeah, I know the same spiel from Rene (whom I met in Cuenca, Ecuador), another Reiki therapist. I tried not to think about it for the rest of the day. After a while, the lost items did not appear that important anymore as I kept coming back to HOW it could have happened.
In the end, I realised that the fact that my lock was not broken, meant that someone must have known my code number. And how would he/she know? He/she must have been near to me when I opened my lock to put my money in. Teresa’s kid sister, a 15-year old girl, was right next to me at that moment.
So, why would the thief not take the hi-fi set? It was because it was someone from the house.
And why would the thief not take the money? It was because it was not a THIEF thief. This was a petty thief. It was someone who dared not take the money, knowing that if that happened, I would call the police. But if he/she took some other things not of much value, perhaps, I would not call the police.
Why the glass jewellery? For a young girl, they look pretty.
In the end, I just knew who was the culprit but there was nothing I could do. I wanted to be able to claim the theft from my insurance, but that would mean calling the police to lodge the report. And the police would have to investigate, and that meant going to the apartment and interviewing everyone.
No, I could not bear this to happen to Teresa and her family. So, I decided to forget about it all. I mean, I call them ‘jewellery’, but they are really just glass. What was lost were the silver fittings which cost quite a bit for me. Sigh, this is my first (and I hope only) bad experience from using the Hospitality Club service, although I know Teresa had absolutely nothing at all to do with this. And the fact that someone ran through my bag and left my money and passport alone, perhaps, I should count myself lucky. I just had to be much more careful next time, and sigh… less trusting.
Fernando accompanied me to town to change money, find a Colca Canyon tour later in the afternoon and check out the Halloween celebrations. I booked myself for a 3-day-2-night bus-cum-trekking tour, leaving tomorrow. May I forget everything that had happened after the trek.
Tags: 08) Touch of Peru, Arequipa
swesn