The Wallet
钱夹
As I walked home one freezing day， I stumbled on a wallet someone had lost in the street. I picked it up and looked inside to find some identification so I could call the owner. But the wallet contained only three dollars and a crumpled letter that looked as if it had been in there for years. The envelope was worn and the only thing that was legible on it was the return address. I started to open the letter， hoping to find some clue. Then I saw the dateline -- 1924. The letter had been written almost sixty years earlier. It was written in a beautiful feminine handwriting， on powder－blue stationery with a little flower in the left－hand corner. It was a "Dear John"letter that told the recipient， whose name appeared to be Michael， that the writer could not see him any more because her mother forbade it. Even so， she wrote that she would always love him. It was signed Hannah.
It was a beautiful letter， but there was no way， except for the name Michael， to identify the owner. Maybe if I called information， the operator could find a phone listing for the address on the envelope. The operator suggested I speak with her supervisor， who hesitated for a moment， then said， "Well， there is a phone listing at that address， but I can"t give you the number. " She said as a courtesy， she would call that number， explain my story and ask whoever answered if the person wanted her to connect me.
I waited a few minutes and then the super－visor was back on the line. "I have a party who will speak with you. " I asked the woman on the other end of the line if she knew anyone by the name of Hannah. She gasped. " Oh！ We bought this house from a family who had a daughter named Hannah. But that was thirty years ago！" "Would you know where that family could be located now？" I asked. "I remember that Hannah had to place her mother in a nursing home some years ago， "the woman said. "Maybe if you got in touch with them， they might be able to track down the daughter. "She gave me the name of the nursing home， and I called the number. The woman on the phone told me the old lady had passed away some years ago， but the nursing home did have a phone number for where the daughter might be living. I thanked the person at the nursing home and phoned the number she gave me. The woman who answered explained that Hannah herself was now living in a nursing home. This whole thing is stupid， I thought to myself. Why am I making such a big deal over finding the owner of a wallet that has only three dollars and a letter that is almost sixty years old？
Nevertheless， I called the nursing home in which Hannah was supposed to be living， and the man who answered the phone told me ， "Yes， Hannah is staying with us. "Even though it was already 10 P. M. ， I asked if I could come by to see her. "Well， "he said hesitatingly， "if you want to take a chance， she might be in the day room watching television. "
I thanked him and drove over to the nursing home. The night nurse and a guard greeted me at the door. We went up to the third floor of the large building. In the day room， the nurse introduced me to Hannah. She was a sweet， silverhaired old－timer with a warm smile and a twinkle in her eyes. I told her about finding the wallet and showed her the letter. The second she saw the powder－blue envelope with that little flower on the left， she took a deep breath and said， "Young man， this letter was the last contact I ever had with Michael. "She looked away for a moment， deep in thought， and then said softly， "I loved him very much. But I was only sixteen at the time and my mother felt I was too young. Oh， he was so handsome. He looked like Sean Connery， the actor. "
"Yes， " she continued， "Michael Goldstein was a wonderful person. If you should find him， tell him I think of him often. And， " she hesitated for a moment， almost biting her lip， tears welled up in her eyes， "I never did marry. I guess no one ever matched up to Michael. . . "I thanked Hannah and said good－bye. I took the elevator to the first floor and as I stood by the door， the guard there asked， "Was the old lady able to help you？"I told him she had given me a lead. "At least I have a last name. But I think I"ll let it go for a while. I spent almost the whole day trying to find the owner of this wallet. "I had taken out the wallet， which was a simple brown leather case with red lacing on the side. When the guard saw it， he said， "Hey， wait a minute！ That"s Mr. Goldstein"s wallet. I"d know it anywhere with that bright red lacing. He "s always losing that wallet. I must have found it in the halls at least three times. "
"Who"s Mr. Goldstein？"I asked， as my hand began to shake. "He "s one of the old－timers on the eighth floor. That"s Mike Goldstein"s wallet for sure. He must have lost it on one of his walks. "I thanked the guard and quickly ran back to the nurse"s office. I told her what the guard had said. We went back to the elevator and got on. I prayed that Mr. Goldstein would be up.
