(Entry dated : April 2024)
Malcolm had saved up for weeks, and today he decided—it was time to buy his very own wallet. So off to the mall we went, each with an errand in mind.
After a long and careful search, he finally found the one. He paid for it himself—his first official purchase—and proudly transferred what was left of his money into it, plus his old school ID. He couldn’t stop beaming. He slipped it in and out of his pocket repeatedly, checked it, kept admiring his new purchase.
We reminded him, gently but persistently, “Wag mo paglaruan yan, baka mawala pa.” (Don’t play with it too much. You might lose it.) But the excitement was too much to contain, he just couldn’t resist.
Moments later, he looked at us and asked, half-laughing, “Did one of you take my wallet?”—thinking it was a prank. Reality slowly hit him when he realized we had nothing to do with it. His heart sank.
We were supposed to be relaxing, and now the entire family had become unwilling participants of an exhausting scavenger hunt. We retraced every step—each food stall, every checkout counter, every store we visited and possible detour. We asked around with increasing urgency, but each reply was the same: blank stares, sorry shakes of the head, polite shrugs. All dead ends. It was a busy day at the mall. The crowd was thick, and the energy frenetic.
I saw it in Malcolm’s eyes—his hopeful sparkle dimming, his small shoulders weighed down by guilt. Even my husband said it was impossible to recover. It’s a new wallet. It has cash. A kid’s ID. The odds didn’t look good.
But I looked at my son and told him, “Check natin, mahahanap yun.”
By then, I’d already lived through two wallet miracles—each returned against all odds. That memory anchored me again, that unicorn thoughts and gratitude work. I whispered thank you to the universe again, and told Malcolm, “Whatever happens, it’s going to be okay.”
We kept asking, over and over, like someone would eventually say something different. But three times, we were told: “Try customer service at the basement.”
We hadn’t been on that floor. It was almost closing time.
The kids were cranky, tired and wanted to go home, and just forget about it. Malcolm was emotional—blaming himself, and has already given up. My husband wanted to let it serve as a lesson to Malcolm.
Still, I said, “Wait lang, check natin.”
They groaned in unison. But I told my son we’ll find it. So I had to stick to that promise. Afterall, we’ve already done so much. What harm could this last stop do?
At the customer service counter, the lady behind the counter asked for details: who owned the wallet, what it looked like, what were the contents. We gave her the answers, i wrote my number so they can reach me if they have updates – and i was ready to leave it for another day. She made a quick phone call, echoed the information we relayed to her, then gestured for us to sit.
A few minutes later, a mall officer arrived with a logbook tucked under his arm. He asked for details about the missing item, and he listened intently. Then slowly pulled out a familiar brown wallet tucked between the pages.
It was Malcolm’s.
His eyes, still red from crying, blinked wide in disbelief. A slow, trembling smile crawled across his face, like was witnessing a miracle. He held out his hand to receive his wallet, reuniting with his treasure in slow motion. Opened it, and saw his funds intact. He didn’t expect to find it, and of course, I loved that I was right.
I looked at my husband. He was stunned, and silent – he definitely did not see that coming. I savored the moment, basking in the glow of having been gloriously, undeniably right. I may have smiled in I-told-you-so.
According to the officer, it was returned by someone named Robin (or Robi) from the department store.
We were thrilled and incredibly grateful. We thanked the guy in person, and even captured the moment in a photo.
So yeah. another unicorn moment. 🙂
I have sufficient experience that supports that great things happen when you expect great things to happen – possibilities start in a healthy imagination, and you can choose to believe or not. I have proof that mine works. And whether you believe or not, that’s your power, and your journey too. 🙂
