Lost and found

The different areas of the school campus are ideal locations for children to forget their belongings. In the evenings, after the children leave, a member of the staff walks around the campus with a big bag, picking up these forgotten objects. The objects are placed within a set of large boxes, which is referred to as 'lost and found'. The 'lost and found' boxes are not a pretty sight to behold. Usually, they remind one of streets in a riot ridden city. So the boxes are kept at the end of the dark corridor that leads to the physics lab. Sometimes as I walk in and out of physics lab, I am seized by the desire to rummage through the boxes in the hope of finding some lost treasure. Fortunately, I don't let this desire take over me.

Last evening, as I was walking out of the physics lab, I saw a pair of legs hang out of one of the 'lost and found' boxes. I wondered if the owner of the pair of legs belonged to the lost or found category. I walked up to the box and asked "Hey, what are you doing? Are you lost?" A boy got off the box and said "Oh! I am looking for the water bottle that I lost four years back?" I thought I did not hear him right and asked "Four days is it?" He responded "Four years". I found it difficult to not sound surprised when I asked "You are looking for a water bottle that you lost four years ago?" He said "Yes. I lost it four years back and my teacher told me that I can find it in the lost and found boxes". The boy said this with a lot of hope and I hated to disappoint him. But as hard as it is, truth had to prevail. I said "You might have found it four years back but a lot of time has passed now". The boy hung his head down in disappointment. He said "you mean the 'lost and found' box has lost it". I responded "that's right. The 'lost and found' box has lost it". After a moment's silence the boy asked "Does the school have a 'lost from lost and found and found' box?" I looked at him. He seemed to have asked the question in seriousness and so I responded likewise "No". The boy said "ok" and jumped right back into the box. I was puzzled. I asked "what are you searching for now?" The boy responded "I am searching for the water bottle that I lost six months back".