When the gun she had been given for self-defence was stolen‚ Cordelia Moller was sure she would never see it again.
Imagine her surprise when it turned up again 18 years later.
Moller, of Nelspruit, was given the Baby Browning 6.35mm pistol by her father.
“My dad bought the gun for me in 1997 when I was 20 years old.
“He had given it to me to use for self-defence because I was a cyclist‚” she said.
A year after she was given the pistol‚ Moller’s car was broken into and her handbag was stolen.
“My gun was in my handbag.
“I don’t think [the thieves]knew it was there‚” she said.
But she was in for a shock when a letter from the police arrived a month ago, informing her that her gun had been recovered.
“I never thought I would hear anything about it after all those years,” she said.
“I was shocked and relieved. The gun has sentimental value.”
She said her father‚ who died two years ago of cancer‚ would have been happy to know that the gift he had bought for her had been recovered.
“He would have enjoyed the story‚” she said.
Moller said she still had to decide whether she would keep it.
“It is [badly] damaged. I asked if it was worth spending money on it, and was told it is not.
“A new one costs R800.
“I would love to keep it for the sentimental value and because I am still a cyclist.
“It will not kill anyone‚ but it will help me defend myself.”
It still remains a mystery where and how the gun was found.
“I asked the police, but they can’t tell how they found it,” Moller said.