Good Deedery- A mystery

So the other day, I was walking home in the rain as I came across a woman's wallet on the ground. It was opened on the floor, soaked. On first instinct, I snatched it up and looked around to see if there was anybody around who may have dropped it. The parking lot was empty; everybody was in their shelters- out of the rain. I opened the wallet, and saw nothing but a few cards inside. I pocketed it, and walked home.

When I reached my apartment, I rested the wallet on the coffee table, and tried to dry it off. As I explored some more, I realized that one of the cards was a social security card- something very important to have, and a hassle to replace. There was also a proof of identification card inside the wallet. I read the name to myself, Nancy Johnson*.

I knew that the girl would probably be going crazy right about now, looking everywhere for her misplaced wallet. I knew if I lost mine, I'd want it back. So I hopped on Facebook, the young world's tracking device/ Internet phenomenon, and searched her name.

One person came up, but her location was somewhere in California...

I hoped she hadn't gone back, yet.

I sent her a message about my finding, and called it George (west indian saying for leaving things be).

A day later, I had recieved no response, and the wallet was sitting in my room...
I refused to give up, because I KNOW the person who lost it wasn't going to give up looking...plus, what was I going to do with it?

I started to look through the things more thoroughly, and saw that her proof of identification card stated that it was for 16 and 17 year olds. I figured that she was probably a younger girl, and MySpace usually appeals to younger girls...
{sidenote: isn't that SAD? or is it 'happy'? do these two websites really run our lives?}
So I went to the computer lab in my apartment building, and typed her name into Google first, and searched her name on MySpace in another tab. As I waited for the MySpace results, I started to browse Google. Nothing came up, but weird articles with people who somehow had the same name. Unfortunately, there was no way to get in touch with her listed, or even know information that said if it was the right person.

I shifted my attention to MySpace. Again, there was only one person available under the same name. Ugh. I prayed that it was her. I clicked on her profile.
Her name was Nancy, and her profile was private. It showed her age, which was 16, and it showed her headline, which read: Somebody stole my wallet and purse! :- (
Her 'mood' was also showing, which stated she was sad.

There she was.

I immediately sent her a message telling her what I went through to find her, and how glad I was to find her, or who I thought was her. She sent me a response soon after that was one sentence long:
What does the wallet look like?

I was taken aback until I realized that if some weird man sent me a random message about my headline, I'd be kind of reluctant to believe him, too...haha.
I explained that to her, and told her what the wallet looked like (black, and not obviously NOT designer...haha), then preceded to tell her what was inside the wallet as well. Her ID card, her SS card, her insurance card, and a Sonic Card with peel off deals and discounts.
A half an hour passed with no response.
I sent her another message- I guess I got the wrong person, huh?
Waited a few minutes...no response. So I left the lab and went to get something to eat.
I returned a little later to see if there was a response.
Yes.
She said that it was 'soooo hers', and she was glad I found it. She asked when I would be able to give it to her, and I told her as soon as she was ready for it. I gave her my number, and left the lab.
I felt great, and couldn't wait for her to be one with her belongings again...

About an hour later, she called me.

Hello?
Heyyyy! This is Nancy!
Oh, hey! How are you?
I’m fineeee…So do you think you could meet us at the gas station by Smitty’s?
Unfortunately, I don’t have my car down here, but I can ask my friend if he’ll take me. Or, you can come to Centennial!
A pause…
Okay, we’ll meet you at Centennial!
Bet. Just call me when you get here!
Okay!

She sounded soooo country on the phone! There was a faded picture of her on her Wild Adventures season pass, so I couldn’t really make out her looks..but she seemed to be one of those country girls raised in southern GA who wouldn’t look twice at a black guy except to make sure he wasn’t going to rob her.
That’s just an assumption though…
I changed my clothes…first impression! Nothing too fresh…a tee and some jeans.
I made sure everything was there, and stuffed the wallet in my back pocket. I got a ring ten minutes later.

Hey, we’re outside Centennial Hall.
Okay, I’ll be out there in a second.

I walked outside, and saw two white girls standing at the back of a Yukon. I looked around to see if anybody else could be the one…
Nope.
I called out, Wallet?
They smiled, and said huh?
I said are one of you missing a wallet?

The smile remained plastered on their faces as they walked up to me to retrieve the lost…

The owner of the wallet, a short girl with freckles- very pretty, thanked me. It felt like we were friends, yet not…She took the wallet and started to look inside of it. She explained to me how she left her car door open, and somebody went in there and took her purse and wallet. I screwed up my face and explained how much I hated theives. She agreed. She said it was stolen on Friday, the same day I found it.
Her friend, a gorgeous brunette, complained about the cold. I agreed. She stated that the world would be a better place if more people thought like me…I just smiled.
Before it could get any awkward, I told the ladies to have a great night, and proceeded to walk away after they thanked me again.

I told them it wasn't a problem at all...And I was glad I was the one to find it to return it...

They looked much older than 16...lol.

With a satisfied attitude, mystery solved, and a smile I returned to my apartment building, and got on a computer to see if she responded after I shot her my number. She didn't, but her new headline read 'I found my wallet! Thank you so much, Lucious!'

Her mood setting was changed to 'estatic'.

I was the fourth on her Top Friends list...

I smiled.

Everything happens for a reason...and there's always a bigger picture. Remember that. I may not know what the reason was for me finding the wallet and returning it, but she may know. Maybe she had a certain stereotype stuck in her head about African Americans, and I proved her wrong. Who knows? We are in the deep south...Maybe she felt the world was going to end and me giving her back her stuff made things better for her...

Who knows?

So thank God for the things that happen, the good, the bad...because he's the ultimate painter. He knows what he's doing, and every stroke means something- whether it seems to clash with the other colors or not. In the end, the picture will flow together, and it will be more beautiful than any of us can describe. Don't question God's strokes...just examine...

No problem, Nancy! :-)

Peace & Blessings

Lu
*Name has been changed, due to the issue of privacy.