The Lost Ticket, or is it really lost?

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Another exciting day...
For some reason people like to plan meetings and then cancel them at the last minute. It leaves me (and S.) sort of roaming around the Ministry for Health with not a whole lot to do, but wait until the next meeting. However, today, we had to go and pick up my tickets for Malawi. Because the whole e-ticket fad hasn't caught on here in Mozambique. So, we've been to the travel agency 5 times now, and finally today I am supposed to get my tickets (to leave tomorrow at 6am). However, it seems that I am missing one of my tickets. Did I leave it with the travel agent, like I had the others? Was it in my hotel room? No matter. The travel agent just said to walk across the street and tell the police that I had been mugged.

Me: I'm sorry, you want me to across the street and do what??? Thinking I had misheard.
Travel agent: Walk across the street and tell them that you were mugged and they stole your ticket.
Me: Should, um, maybe I go and check my hotel room again? Maybe it's my mistake and I have it.
Travel agent: it only takes a second to file a report and then we can give you a new ticket, no charge.
S: Um, we don't mind paying if we (Sara) need to get another ticket or something.
Travel agent: Oh, just run across the street. It's no big deal.
Me: Uh, okay. Is this breaking the law though?
Travel agent: Oh no, sometimes we just have to do it when we need something.
S to the police in Portuguese: I left the hotel with a ticket and now I don't have it.
Police: You don't have it?
S: No, um, I think it was stolen on my way here from the hotel.
Police: Did you just lose it? Did someone approach you on the street (who are the police kidding, of course someone approached us on the street, street hawkers are everywhere, every step you take on the sidewalk)
S: (thinking he didn't want some guy thrown in jail for this little story) Maybe. I don't know. I had it and now it's gone.
Police: Get lost. You lost your ticket. That's not our problem.
Travel agent: What do you mean they wouldn't open a case. We'll just take you to a different police station.
Me: How about we just go and check my hotel room one last time, surely it's just an oversight on my part.

Long story short, I had the ticket in my room. All is well. No more police reports. Next email should be from Malawi!

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