We all think souvenirs are bought.
But the ones that matter most? You carry them without noticing.
Here are three small things I didn’t mean to collect — but now, I can’t imagine traveling without them.
1. A Napkin With Someone’s Handwriting
From a food stall. From a stranger. From a day you didn’t want to end.
It doesn’t have to say anything wise. Just something that proves the moment happened.
2. A Coin You Forgot to Spend
From a temple. A ferry. A side street.
You were too tired or too full or too present to use it — and so it stayed.
3. A Petal From Where You Sat
Sometimes a jasmine. Sometimes a leaf.
Sometimes you find it in your bag days later, and smile without remembering why.
These aren’t things you frame. They’re things that wait quietly at the bottom of your bag — until one day, you reach in and remember who you were when you found them.