I nearly lost everything yesterday morning

It’s the 4th of January and I’ve just walked into a gym in Marbella.

It’s pouring down with rain and my eyes can barely stay open because I’m so tired.

My brain feels like it’s on fire.

“I can’t keep getting no sleep like this” I think to myself as I force a smile to the receptionist and scan myself through the barrier.

“Anyway” I continue thinking “hopefully a workout will help.”

So I walk into the locker room, slump my green backpack down, heavy with my computer, wallet and car keys in, and take a seat on a bench as my head falls into my hands. The thought of going back to my car and sleeping feels much more appealing than working out right now.

But as I look around at all the other men getting changed, high fiving each other as they walk in, my sadness turns to loneliness.

Because since arriving in Spain I haven’t made any friends yet. I’ve been working, training and spending time with my girlfriend. But outside of that, I’ve felt socially malnourished.

“Just speak to someone” a voice in my head says. Until I realise I don’t even have the energy to start a conversation let alone maintain one.

So another voice tells me to snap out of it, put my stuff away in the locker, grab my water bottle and head to the outside gym area to train.

Just-get-started.

“Bloody hell!” I think to myself five minutes later as my warm hand touches the freezing cold metal of the barbell and the rain splashes down all around me.

“Oh” I think with surprise, “maybe being in Spain doesn’t mean the weather is automatically sunny all the time. I’m gonna need my hoodie, it’s freezing!”

So I jog back into the main gym area, scoot past the reception and weave through the busy corridors of other people making their way to the main workout room, and walk into the locker room to get my stuff.

But as soon as I open the door and look at my locker, my heart sinks and my face flushes red.

“Not now. Please not now. I beg you please not now!” I say on a loop out loud as my legs wobble towards my worst nightmare.

Just when I thought my morning couldn’t get any worse, it turns horrible.

My bag, with everything in it, gone.

And the locker door wide open.

So now I rush around the locker room frantically, brushing past all the other men changing back into their comfy clothes after a refreshing workout, me feeling the exact opposite: stressed, shook, empty and completely oblivious as to whether I’m bumping into them or not.

“Where is it?!” I ask myself, ripping open all the empty lockers and slamming them shut.

But I find nothing.

Not even a look from others. Not a word of encouragement. Not a hand on my shoulder as if to say “hey, don’t worry, I know you've had a stressful morning, it’ll be fine.”

I feel alone.

I feel invisible.

So after five frantic minutes of checking all the open lockers, I rush to the reception desk and ask the lady, a small Spanish woman around 45 years old with long brunette hair, if sometimes the cleaners move people’s bags.

“Nooo, of course not my love, why what happened?”

She seems to care. But I don’t want her to see how sad I feel.

“I think someone stole my bag” I say to her with a dejected slump of my shoulders onto the side of the reception, trying to act normal.

“Really? Are you sure? What colour was your bag?”

All questions I answer, but they’re not what I want.

All I want is for the ground to open up and swallow me whole.

Or a hug.

So as she’s looking at me, trying to empathise, all I can think about is what this means: saying goodbye to my girlfriend again, going home, postponing my work, restoring all my files, buying a new MacBook - it all feels too much, like I’ve just been stabbed in the stomach.

But then the lady cuts through my noise and says “come with me”.

It feels like she’s just grabbed my shoulders, shook me and said “WAKE UP”.

So I follow her to the locker room, we're now joined on the same mission; to find the person with my green bag and all the valuable stuff in it - what we do with the person once we find them, God knows.

Now my sunken stomach fills with rage at the thought of someone with my things.  

“What was the locker number?” She asks sternly as we turn a corner.

Time is of the essence, and we both know it.

“23” I said as she then opens the locker room door and disappears into the crowd of sweaty men getting changed.

She starts opening up all the lockers in that corner of the room.

3 minutes pass.

Nothing.

Black, blue, orange bags.

Not a single green one in sight.

But then, as I'm sat down down on a bench hoping from a distance, I notice her pace changes.

She began opening the lockers with a fierce speed. But with each one she opens she seems to slow down.

So five minutes later, as I’m sat there staring at the floor thinking about how my life is about to change forever, she slowly walks over to me and says…

Nothing.

Not a word.

Instead her lips turn upside down and she looks at me with that I’m-sorry-but-there’s-nothing-we-can-do look.

We both know.

It’s gone.

And there’s nothing we can do about it.

So I tell her it’s fine and walk to the reception with her.

“Hey,” she says as I’m about to drag myself along the 45 minute journey home in the pouring rain without my hoodie, my brain even more on fire, “give me your number, I’m going to keep looking for it, if I find it, I’ll let you know.”

“Thank you” I say as I leave the door and step out into the world again.

But she stops me before I leave and says one last thing with a sad face.

“I feel really bad.”

“It’s okay” I sigh. “I really appreciate you trying to help me. There's nothing we can do.”

So I step out into the freezing cold rain and spend the next 5 minutes using my phone to block all my cards, laptop and log out of everything important.

Please type a message that’ll show on your laptop screen after blocking - Apple asks me.

“I’ll find you” I type with anger, hoping the thief with my laptop will get what's coming to them.

But then my heart beat jumps.

I quickly go on “find my device” to disable my laptop and see something that baffles me.

My laptop is still in the gym.

So I rush back inside to the lady.

“What is it my love?” She asks with tenderness.

I say nothing and just show her the location.

“Quick!” She shouts, “go upstairs and look for this person!”

So I rush up the stairs, half ready to fight, half thinking “wait am I really about to fight someone in a gym?”

No time to think. My legs are already moving.

But as I’m halfway up the stairs I stop.

"Let me check the locker room first.”

So I bolt into the locker room again as that’s where the location shows.

“Where is it!!”

I see a man packing his stuff away, right where the location is showing on my phone.

Do I confront him? He seems suspicious, his bag could clearly fit my laptop in.

Should I confront him?

3-2-1…

No. Best not.

5 minutes later.

Nothing.

And no one wearing a green backpack.

So I head back out to the reception on last time, now feeling even more drained from the sudden surge of excitement that’s left me as quickly as it came.

“And?” The lady says with hope.

She reminds me of my mum.

“Nothing.”

But then I hear it…

The voice of reason.

“What pin number did you use?” A calm manly voice asks behind me.

I turn to see a 40 year old man wearing the gym logo on his top, walking towards the locker room.

So I tell him the number. Eager to put all my faith in him.

But 2 minutes go by, as I’m now stood outside the locker room frantically refreshing my laptop's location on my phone, and he still hasn’t come out.

“Time to face the rain again” I sigh.

But then I hear the three words that change my whole life.

“I’ve found it.” The man says with a warm smile.

“You’re joking” I say, so shocked I can barely breathe.

“Follow me” he says as he places a warm hand on my shoulder and points towards my bag.

“Easy mistake to make. Your locker number was 66, not 23. This happened to me a few weeks ago.”

I place a hand on his shoulder, and smile as I exhale all my relief.

“Thank you” I tell him “truly, thank you.”

“De nada” he says with a smile, returns me to the lady at the reception and heads back upstairs.

She meets me with a suspenseful gaze.

“And?!”

“We found it.”

“Oh my god! Thank god! Are you ok?”

“I’m so sorry, I feel like such a fool.”

“Hey, don’t be silly! This happens to people all the time. Now go and enjoy your workout.”

So I thank her one more time. But just as I’m about to walk away I ask “what’s your name?”

“Irene.” She says with a smile.

“My name's Lewis, nice to meet you.”

Thank God.

…

An hour later, I finish my workout.

“Just what I needed” I think as I open the correct locker this time and head to the reception.

As I walk past, I go to say another thank you to Irene, but she's busy with a customer.

“Another time” I say to myself.

But then I see a cafe close to the gym. And an idea flashes in my mind.

So I go into the cafe quickly, not knowing when Irene will finish work, and order a carrot cake to give her as a “thank you.”

As I'm sitting there, at a table for one in this cozy cafe, waiting for the waitress to bring the cake... it all hits me.

"What a day" I sigh with relief.

“Here you are” the waitress says as he hands me the carrot cake to go.

"How's your day been?" I ask her.

She smiles and says a quick "Good and yours?".

"Well, I thought someone stole my bag in the gym when really I just forgot my locker number."

"Well then you have to celebrate!" she says with an even bigger smile.

"That's why I'm here" I say with a chuckle while pointing to the cake.

We both laugh.

A good 30 second moment.

So I head back into the reception, see Irene still busy with the customers, leave the cake with another guy working there and say “this is for Irene”, and walk back out into the world again.

But as soon as I step out into the fresh air, car keys in hand and my backpack on, it hits me.

I don’t feel lonely anymore.

Because I’ve just made a new friend.

….

The key takeaway:

There’s an opportunity in everything.

:)

Thanks for reading,

Lew

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