Story Starter: Suitcase


Suitcase

What does this suitcase make you think of? Holidays. Travels. Summer. Leaving home. Lost belongings.

As you can perhaps tell, the suitcase itself is fairly new, the coloured luggage strap very well travelled. The background is an airport.

I can tell you that the suitcase is mine, and yes, this was its first trip. My old one, which I’d had for about ten years, was hard shell and finally cracked after one throw too many into an airport hold. I got it home safely, nothing lost, but I knew I’d have to replace it.

Along came Black Friday and I started browsing. But I’m fussy about the interior of my case and wanted to see it for myself, so no online shopping. In Dundee there’s only really Debenhams that carries a decent range, and I couldn’t quite decide if they had one I wanted or not. So I left it.

A week later I went back, my mind made up that yes, the one I’d seen would be ok. And guess what. It was cheaper then than it had been on super-duper-bargain Black Friday. Hah!

Why did I photograph it at the airport? No, not because I thought I’d forget what I was looking for on the luggage carousel at our destination. That “chartreuse” colour is pretty unforgettable!

I’ve never been unfortunate enough to lose my luggage, but I did have to reclaim two suitcases from a Greek lost luggage office one time when we were unable to fly home and our cases had to be taken off our flight. (Long story – don’t ask, but no alcohol was involved.) Anyway, trying to describe two black cases – shape, size, texture, etc, was enough of a life lesson that a photo is much handier. And hopefully it’ll be like

Shirley Blair

Fiction Ed Shirley’s been with the “Friend” since 2007 and calls it her dream job because she gets to read fiction all day every day. Hobbies? Well, that would be reading! She also enjoys writing fiction when she has time, long walks, travel, and watching Scandi thrillers on TV.