My most terrifying experience

My most terrifying experience

“What the hell??” I thought as I realized that everybody had left with his luggage and the conveyer belt had just stopped advancing. I was standing at the airport in Ankara, Turkey and my luggage had not arrived yet on this belt where everybody found his or hers. So I thought about what to do next. So looked around and as I spotted it, I headed for the general information desk at the end of the hallway.

It was the year 2003 and I was travelling to Turkey for a vacation with one of my best friends from school, Franck. He and his parents were already there at the hotel and I was to arrive a week later to stay for two further weeks at the resort. The hotel was located about an hour from Ankara and directly at the beach.

Since Franck and I used to smoke a lot of weed in our free time, I promised to take some with me to use there at the hotel at the beach. We also wanted to be able to spend some nights outside, so I took a tent with me. The beach has always been a special place for me since in Switzerland there is no sandy beach in 200 kilometres reach. So I took a little plastic bag, packed in vacuum by a friend who’s a chef, and stored it carefully inside my suitcase. And exactly this suitcase wasn’t arriving now at the airport on this conveyer belt!

I started to think that they had found the weed, and really started to worry. As I approached the information desk, the bored woman sitting there didn’t even take notice of me until I spoke to her. She looked at me in an indifferent and dull way, and asked how she could help me. I explained that I had arrived an hour ago on a flight from Geneva and my suitcase hadn’t been on the conveyor belt. “Are you Andrés Brenner?” she asked. I was shocked. “Yes, I am.” I said with an insecure voice. “Well, your suitcase is over there at the police station. There was a little issue with it. You can claim it there.” Now, I was worried! So I looked over there and saw the big police officer sitting on his desk looking at the computer screen before him.

I approached him and asked if they had a blue suitcase among their stuff. He looked up and said: “Yes, we do. Come with me.” He stood up and I followed him around the table into the back of the office. There was my suitcase! Standing on the floor in the back corner. The officer took it harshly and slammed in on the table. If I hadn’t been worried yet, I was it now! “Open it!” he commanded. So I did. Now, I had just to look secure and not to have anything to hide. I opened it and moved some things around to show him that there’s nothing wrong with this suitcase. So, what’s this?!?” he asked me. I looked and saw that he was pointing at the tent in my suitcase. It was actually a round grey bundle with no harmful look. I said that it is a tent, of course, feeling very relieved. He wanted to see it closer and took it out. I gave it to him, opened it and took out all these little stick you can unite to build the tent. “It’s a tent, Sir”, I said firmly. He inspected it a little more, and put it back.

As he saw that it was really a tent and that it didn’t represent any harm to his nation, he told me to leave in his harsh manner as always. I left the police station and the airport with one of the biggest smiles I have ever had on my face, that’s for sure!