The feelings that swamped over him as he watched the item on the late night news defies description.
He had always been an avid collector. He was immensely proud of what he had manage to gather over time. It had taken the best part of his adult years to get it all together. It was a fine collection, there could be no doubt about that. He’d been living with the fact that it was just one piece short for some time. He had poured hours into combing the internet for traces of it. He had read countless articles about the thing, together with numerous items where people claimed to have actually seen it. Of course, there were those who even doubted its existence. This single, missing item was out there somewhere and he knew it.
Now, here she was, holding it up to the camera.
A fourteen year old, on holiday with her parents. The family was on an overseas holiday when it was found. It was their last day before flying home and they decided to use their hired car to make a last minute dash to see the nearby rapids. The woman in the tourist office had said it was a ‘must see’. They were on the track leading to the river when the girl found it.
He switched the television off and made his way to bed, where he was destined to spend the first of many sleepless nights…