Another brilliant piece from a GUNNAS WRITING MASTERCLASS WRITER
The first time I came across a foreign coin wrapped in paper was when I was walking along a dirty cluttered street in America. The front of my shoe kicked it along the sidewalk as I was rushing through the street. I thought nothing of it at first, but after kicking it a second time I bent down to retrieve it and felt something solid in the middle, carefully unfolding the paper around it so as not to disturb the piece inside or wanting to drop it, I revealed a Vietnam coin, which on inspection the paper around it read the words Emotionally Vibrant.
I sat on a cement wall just off the sidewalk to ponder what it might have meant. Knowing this coin had travelled from a third world country and seeing the words that accompanied it the temperature dropped around me giving me chills as it took me straight back to the time I visited Vietnam and how I felt after being there. Vietnamese faces were definitely vibrant and always smiling even though they had very little and were living in poverty. Emotionally it made me sad for them, but I smiled to myself as the thought of how little meant so much to all who live there and how it changed me in terms of living my life and being grateful for everything I have because being materialistic and greedy is a power that no one should own.
Next minute I found myself wondering about the coin, whether it was someone’s good luck charm? Are they devastated they have lost it? Did someone special give it to them? And, have they in fact realized it was even missing yet?
Away with my thoughts and in a dream like state, a voice approached me asking me if that was my dog? A little startled, my mind still feeling very foggy I answered no, but he’s gorgeous. You look faraway, are you ok? Smiling I answered yes I’m fine. I’ve just found something that could possibly mean a lot to someone as for myself it has already taken me back on a memorable journey and I would really love to have the pleasure of meeting the owner, finding out their story and re-uniting them with the coin.
I advertised in the local newspaper, I put picture posters up in the street where I found the coin and surrounding areas with a phone number so they could reach me, but to no avail, which saddened me greatly.
To this day I still have that very coin wrapped in the same paper I found it in and whenever I pick it up I still wonder how it came to be on that particular street and what sort of person it left behind.