Not until I was sitting in the tram did I sense that something was missing. Then I realized that I had left my laptop in the train.

I jumped out of the front exit of the tram like I was parachuting into morning nothingness, and I made a mad sprint for the front entrance of the train station. A man yelled at me twice and pointed to the ground where my nice winter scarf had fallen. In panic I retraced my steps and then kept on going again.

Would I be in time?

I ran as fast as I could back along the endless hallways of Centraal Station, dashed up the stairs and down the platform.

Boy was I sure relieved when I found it resting above my seat in the baggage rack where I had carefully placed it. At the time I had kept telling myself: don't forget it, don't forget.

Near disasters keep us alert, and as long as things turn out alright life will continue as if nothing had ever happened in the first place.