Karin Hedetniemi
A Plea to the Gods of Lost Causes
I apologize for the lengthy delay in submitting this lost item claim.
I regret the extreme and irreversible tardiness of my request.
I am wracked with remorse for my prior inaction on this matter.
On May 8, 2016, my husband and I travelled on the TGV train departing at 14:46 from Avignon to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.
In our rush to disembark, my husband left behind a brown leather journal in seat pocket #042.
The journal is of indescribable sentimental value and irreplaceable.
The journal contains the last words he ever wrote from the last trip he ever took.
C'était écrit en anglais.
Upon our arrival home in Canada, my husband realized his journal was missing.
I cannot describe to you the profound sadness I saw flash across his face.
I cannot describe to you the profound ache I felt for his lost words.
Unfortunately, my husband can no longer speak to specific identifying features.
There may be content about unidentified birds, music, light and shadows.
There was no time to get his impressions in order.
I understand that after a month, unclaimed items may become the property of the French government, donated to charity, or destroyed.
Understand that after a month, my husband did not exist.
Understand that matter can never be destroyed, only transformed.
Despite the remote possibility of locating the journal, I remain grateful for any assistance you can provide.
I remain haunted by the ghosting of his last written words.
I will always long to know, exactly how he loved me then.
Karin Hedetniemi photographs and writes from Vancouver Island, Canada. Her place-inspired creative work appears in Grain, Welter, EVENT, Reed Magazine, MoonPark Review, and other literary journals. Find her at AGoldenHour.com or on socials @karinhedet.
