write it out, let it go....

Dear Editor of My Local Small Town Paper,

I have mulled over how to tell this story for a couple of days
and, in the end, have decided there is no way to sugar coat it.
It is best just to jump into the story without any pretenses.

A close relative of mine was visiting another relative at our
local hospital recently. The patient has been in care for an
extended amount of time due to a serious illness. After my
"aunt" finished her visit, she went to pick up some groceries.
To her surpise and utter dismay, she found that her wallet
was missing.

This discovery would obviously be upsetting to any one of us
but on this day, my aunt had cashed a two week paycheque
and that entire amount of money was in the wallet. She
backtracked all the places she had been and did not find it.
Eventually, a staff member of the hospital called her to tell
her they found the wallet.

I wish, at this point, I could brighten all of our days by saying
what a goodwill Christmas-like story this is because all the money
was still in the wallet. But sadly, I can't say that. The wallet
was empty.

I wish, at this point, I could portray to you the kind of woman
my aunt is. She is funny and smart and sharp as a tack.
Like any of us, she has had her ups and downs in life, but
you would never know it when you see her constant smile
or hear her vividly contagious laugh.

I wish, at this point, that I could be forgiving and empathetic
towards the person or people who found the wallet and emptied
it of it's contents. But I can't. What I would like to say to that
person was best said by my husband:
"I hope whatever you buy with the money, you choke on it."