As Clare put her key in the lock, a sense of foreboding overcame her. She slowly turned it and pushed the door wide open. Her flat was in disarray. Everything she owned seemed to be scattered all over the floor. As her knees collapsed, she grasped the doorframe as her body slid down to the floor.
Without bothering to get back up, she phoned the police.
“I want to report a burglary.”
After giving all her details, Clare was informed that she should not go into the flat just yet.
“There have been a number of burglaries in your area today and there is already a forensics team working at those crime scenes. I’ll contact them and give them your details.”
“Have you someone you can stay with living close by?”
“Yes, I can stay with my sister.”
“We will call you when you’re allowed back in, and you’ll need to make a list of anything that’s missing. This is the Crime Number for your Insurance Company.”
Clare burst out crying as she told her sister what had happened. It seemed to be a comforting fact that the burglary was most probably carried out by an organised gang, rather than by someone she knew.
Danny and Clare had split up a few month previous after they had been going through a bad patch. This time there had been no going back, no big bunches of flowers or cards saying he was sorry. It really was over.
She thought her new flat would be her safe haven, but now even that had been violated. She couldn’t bear the thought of sleeping there anymore. As soon as she was able, Clare intended to move out. Her life seemed to be in continual turmoil.
It wasn’t until the following Monday that she had the go ahead to assess the damage in her flat. Anne, her sister came with her in order to provide some moral support, and to help put the flat back together. They took time to list all the missing or damaged belongings for the Insurance Claim.
It had been lucky that Clare had had her computer with her the day of the burglary, so there would not be an issue with any of her data being misused.
As Clare was reshelving her reading books on the bookcase she noticed a small piece of paper fluttering to the floor. It was her missing lottery ticket. She picked it up and checked the date of issue. It was still within the six month deadline to claim any prize, she grabbed her computer and crosschecked the numbers.
“Bingo, she shouted.”
Her sister came rushing in from the kitchen.
“I’ve won on the Lottery!” Clare told her excitedly.
They hugged each other tightly and danced around the living room.
“Who’d have thought that being burgled would have a silver lining?” Clare said, “Perhaps my life is finally changing direction.”
