Some people have that rare gift of inspiring you to keep going. Lariza, my "neighbor"—along with others who left Journaly before I could even say goodbye—is a great example. I’m thinking of some of those who vanished without even packing, leaving their posts behind as if chased by a ghost.

But Lariza is still around and doesn't believe in ghosts. I think she'll remember the post I wrote four years ago about her stuffing Robin into her suitcase to protect a precious, ancient book whose pages contained the best-kept secrets of language learning.😅 The story began in the basement of Berlin's impressive State Library. Imagine my surprise when a German journaler left this comment the same day I posted it, "I know that basement very well. I used to work there." That blew my mind.

(In a ship's cabin)

"Robin, wake up," Lariza said, shaking his shoulder. "You need to get out of my suitcase right now."

"Just let me sleep for five more minutes..." said a rather sleepy Robin.

"If you don't get out of there right now, you're going to come out looking like Quasimodo," she said.

But all he could do was get his legs out of the suitcase and slur, "Done. You happy?"

She noticed that something was wrong with him. He was too sleepy— he had traveled "folded" in her suitcase, so she expected him to be eager to get out of it, but instead he seemed to be on cloud nine. "Robin, did you drink before you got into the suitcase?"

"Yeah, no," he said with his eyes still closed, "it's just that your suitcase smells so good..."

He sounded drunk. Lariza's face suddenly switched. She got closer and sniffed him—the poor guy reeked of mothballs. "Oh, boy... you're high on camphor! You've been breathing in mothballs!"

"Moth... huh...?" said Robin, with half his body still in the suitcase.

"Give me your hand," she said, "I'll help you stand up." She pulled him as hard as she could and managed to get him onto the cabin bed. "Good thing you're so thin..." she said, panting. But he kept snoring. "Robin, snap out of it," she said, patting his face. "Tell me where the book is."

"The book...what book? Oh yes...the book. It's in the suitcase." Just as he said that, he fell asleep again, snoring like a bear.

Lariza jumped to her feet and went to look into the suitcase. She took the book and put it under the mattress.

"I think I'll get you the strongest coffee I can find. Don't move. I'll be right back."

(To be continued)