Lost and Seek

“Where is my other sock?” Louise asked.  She was pretty sure she’d seen it in her drawer yesterday.  She emptied the drawer onto her bed and sorted through it.  She had blue and green and purple and white socks in pairs, but only one yellow sock.

Under all the socks, she found her library card.  “I’ve been looking for this for weeks!” she said.  “How did it get into my sock drawer?”  She bundled the socks back into their drawer and slid the drawer back into place.  Then she looked under the bed.  No yellow sock.

Louise sighed and put the yellow sock on top of her dresser.  She got out a pair of white socks and put them on.  Then she took her library card with her into the living room.  Her purse wasn’t by the couch where she’d left it.

“Now where’s my purse?” she asked.  She looked around.  Let’s see.  Maybe it was under the couch?  She knelt down and looked.  There was something there.  It was hard to tell.  She reached under the couch and pulled out a book.

“I’ve been looking for this since last Tuesday,” she said.  “But I swept under here two days ago.  It doesn’t make any sense.”  She set the book on top of the bookshelf and looked around again.  Perhaps her purse had fallen behind the big squashy chair?  No, but there was one of her favorite pens.

Taking the pen and library card, she decided to check the kitchen.  There was a fork under the table that she put under the sink.  Her sunglasses were on the counter.  She took the sunglasses with her.

She checked the bathroom next.  Inside the towel cupboard, she found her purse.  “There you are!” she said.  “How did I leave you in there?”  She put her sunglasses, pen, and library card inside.  “Now to get my shoes on.”

Louise checked by the door first.  Of course, they weren’t there.  She checked in the coat closet.  She moved aside some boots and sandals and a pair of tap shoes.  Her red umbrella was in the back corner.  “I wish I’d known where this was yesterday,” she said.  “I had to leave without it, and I got all wet.”

She put the umbrella up on the closet shelf.  A glove fell off the shelf and landed on her head.  “Now I’ve found you, but it’s a few months too late,” she said.  She put the glove back into her winter coat pocket with its twin.

She left her purse by the door and went back to her bedroom.  She’d already checked under the bed.  Maybe the shoes would be in the closet?

Black dress shoes, red dress shoes, and there they were.  She took out her sneakers.  Why had she brought them back in here?  She went and sat on the bench by the front door and started to put them on.  Something crinkled as she put her foot in.

She pulled them off again and checked inside.  There was the title of that book she was going to look up at the library.  It was a good thing she’d found her card.  Louise put the note in her pocket, put her shoes on, picked up her purse and left.

“She’ll be back,” a tiny voice said from the hall table.  “She’s forgotten me.”

“Where will you hide this time?” said a voice from under the chair cushion.

“Silverware drawer,” said the voice.  There was a quiet clinking sound and a drawer opened and closed.

The front door opened and closed a few minutes later.  “Where did I leave my keys?” Louise said.  She checked the hall table.  “I thought I saw them there last night.  Where could I have left them?”