Privacy II

 

 

After the first shocker I got, thinking of how small the world has become; despite the vast number of humans within it, I found myself in yet another Situation.

It is a small one (it always is), but somehow it mattered to me. I reflected on my life and thought of the people who had done right by me in my time of need. Here was my chance to do the same.

Imagine losing something important to you. Whether it is of sentimental value, or an important document, or any other item for the matter. It belongs to you. What if you lost it? Do you know that feeling of panic when you realize you have lost something? I know it is dreadful, and as you grow in age, sometimes you just don’t show it because you already know what you have to do. Sometimes you just push past the feelings because you know there is not much sense to it. But those feelings are real; as are you. Wouldn’t it be absolutely wonderful if someone made the effort to return it to you?

 

So I did. However, there is not much about the person I could tell from what it is I had found. I wanted to return it; mostly because if it had been me who had lost that exact same thing, I would be devastated, a hidden pile of a nervous wreck. The trouble was not only regaining what I had lost, but the process involved in doing so was exceedingly troublesome. And cost a lot of money.

 

I searched for the owner. Not having much of IT-lligence (as mentioned before), I started with the basics. I found out this person attended a particular investment program in 2010 (the photos confirmed that it was indeed that person, plus the full name and state of origin), I tried asking the program coordinator if they could help me locate the person; however, being from 2010, even I knew it was highly unlikely that I would hear from them.

I tried to access the person’s student loans (underhanded, I know, but I couldn’t think of anything better). Dead end. I tried facebook. Dead end.

 

I tried the numbers I could find on the document. Dead end. I tried a variation of it – BAMMMM!

 

Out came the person’s full name, the number I entered, and also contact number. I saved the number to my phone; and checked the social apps (which now mostly allows you to put profile photos). Sure enough, the number was still valid, and there it was: verification that this was indeed the person I was seeking. I looked further for the “Last seen at…..” and it was yesterday. So it means the person should still be using this number.

 

I text the person, informing of my findings. The next day, it is safely returned.

I should feel good about it, but something feels remotely unsettling about the whole thing.