Top Ten Lost Things I Wish I Could Find Again

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I was tagged with the "Christmas Character Tag" by Sarah of Dreams and Dragons, but I haven't had time yet to do it.  Even though it's past Christmas now, I'll still probably do it next time I have the chance.  

In the mean time, enjoy this list of things that sometimes keeps me awake at night.... 10 Lost Things I Wish I Could Find Again.  @_@

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#10 The Words to that One Song I Wrote...

One of the first songs I wrote was called (ironically) Forgotten Memory.  I had words for it, but I preferred the instrumenal version.  Now I've forgotten both the words, and the melody, and I'll never be able to get them back.

#9  Lily Baby

Probably my favorite toy from my earliest childhood years, Lily Baby was just a simple baby doll dressed in a beautiful white dress and pinafore.  She had a bonnet too at one point, though that was lost before the doll herself disappeared.  I remember, even in my little-kid-memory, that she was pretty discolored toward the end, so there's a good chance one of my parents is behind her eventual "retirement".  

#8  My Ruby-Crystal Ring

 A pretty little piece of costume jewelry with a fake ruby and mock diamonds on either side.  This was the first pretty ring I remember having.  I lost it in a McDonald's ball pit.

#7  Emily Elizabeth

Another childhood toy, Emily Elizabeth was a life-size cloth doll in a pink dress with braided brow yarn-hair.  When I first got her, she had a miniature lookalike doll to go along with her.  I actually have a pretty good idea where Emily ended up.  She was mistakenly taken to a thrift store donation center by one of my parents, who (needless to say) felt horrible when they found out their mistake.  I forgave them of course, so all is well.  I hope some other little girl got to enjoy the doll afterward.  Though as I recall, Emily Elizabeth was missing a nose by the time she was taken, so maybe the thrift store didn't even put her on the shelves...  -_-

#6  That One Verse in Proverbs

Once I found a really cool verse in Proverbs that said something about a warrior who defended a city versus a warrior who waged war on another (or something like that), but I forgot the reference and I've never been able to find it again.  It's possible I imagined it and it was never there in the first place.  My fellow Bible-studiers out there may be able to point me in the right direction.  

#5  The Sisk 4 Necklace

When I was writing my first book, I gave my main character Nayrame a special necklace, a silver pendant depicting a rearing unicorn.  I had a similar necklace myself that served as the inspiration for it.  I call it the Sisk4necklace because these words were engraved on the back of the necklace, along with its twin, which I gave to my best friend at the time. After a few years of having it, I lost it at a Bible camp and despite many efforts to find it again, it has been lost ever since. I'm sure some kid picked it up and thought it was the coolest thing ever.  

The sad thing is, I've never been able to find another one just like it in any stores.  I've found others similar, but not the same.  Finally, not too long ago, I googled "Sisk-4" and found the same pendant on a different kind of chain, now valued at forty dollars plus shipping and handling!  I briefly considered getting it, but then came to my senses as I realized that $40 bucks is a bit much for such a small necklace.  0_o

#4  The Rest of My Enola Holmes Series

I'm not sure where the other books went.  I used to have the whole series, but now I only have the last book.  I last saw the series in a box I kept in the storage garage until I could get a new bookcase, but now they're nowhere to be found.  As you can imagine, this CHAFES ME GREATLY.

#3  My First Round of Checkbooks

What can I say? I had them stashed under my bed, safely away in one of my plastic totes.  Then, when I needed them after wearing out my very first checkbook, they were just... gone.  I have this nagging doubt in my mind that during one of my mad purging fits I threw the box out with other things I perceived to be junk.

#2  My Cat

I guess he wasn't really my cat, but he was my favorite.  Angel was the most beautiful cat I've ever seen.  He resembled a Siamese cat, but with more patches.  He was perfectly proportioned, and had a face full of character.  His bright blue eyes were almost hypnotic in their intensity.  I'm serious, this cat could have made money in shows if we'd have only known his parentage.  He was clever too, unlike his mother Bella whom we affectionately acknowledged as a Supreme Ditz.  

Unfortunately, Angel disappeared on the eve of his adulthood.  Maybe a hawk took him, or a fox got him.  Maybe he took to wandering and decided not to come back.  Or MAYBE some well-meaning person saw him walking around on the farm and thought, "Hey, this cat is so pretty he doesn't deserve to be treated as an outside cat.  Come with me, kitty-kitty, I'll take good care of you!  Leave your silly mean masters behind, I have tuna!"

Alas, we shall never know.  But I did see a cat in the pet store recently that I could swear was descended from him...  

DUN-DUN-DUUUNNN!!

 #1  My Star Sapphire Ring

This one really galls me.  My grandpa bought a 10-karat silver ring with a real star sapphire set in the center when he received his very first Christmas bonus.  Fast forward to many-years-later, when he gave it to me as a gift.  I was so taken with it, I loved that ring.  I wore it often, and my friends at school thought it was so neat how you could really see a six-pointed star in the gem when you held it under the light.  But then one day, with no explanation, I couldn't find it.  I don't know if it was stolen, or if it just fell off in the snow somewhere.  I didn't notice when it went missing  because my finger had grown so used to wearing it I couldn't even tell when it was off.  We turned the house upside down looking for it, but to no avail.  

Now it's my plan that if I ever get a job where they give Christmas bonuses, I'll use my first one to get a star sapphire ring, and finally complete the circle.

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-Emmarayn Redding

(Images taken from the public domain)