Suitcases

I never packed those three suitcases intending to live out of them for six months. Their contents were whatever remained in my Munich apartment after the moving company had picked up everything else. I guess that meant I had inadvertently packed the essentials. One suitcase contained an inflatable mattress, bedsheets, and a blanket. A smaller one held a few cleaning supplies and basic household items. The third one contained enough clothes for two weeks in spring or summer weather. That was it. And it turned out to be enough for the six months I was allowed to keep the rest of my belongings in temporary storage. I did buy some basic furniture when I arrived and I did miss two or three items, but I forgot about all the rest. The day my belongings finally arrived in Madrid, I watched the movers carry in box after box and wondered what I would have felt if everything had been lost or damaged beyond repair during storage. Probably not that much.

And yet, some damage that actually happened upset me. Fortunately, not for long.