Back from the dead: return of the lost earring

Several weeks ago I was minding my own business, doing my laundry.  I pulled the lint trap out of the dryer and heard a muffled clinking noise.  Inside the fur-lined trap was one of my earrings, and I was instantly petrified with fear.

These earrings by themselves are slightly special, but not out of the ordinary: 14 karat gold posts with small cubic zirconium studs.  But my ears are so sensitive, that sterling silver and 12 to 14k gold is all that I can wear without getting irritated in a couple hours.  This half-pair of earrings sitting in my lint trap was one quarter of only two pairs of earrings in my possession that never bothered my ears.  For some reason, I had taken off my earrings during the day and put them in the pocket of my pants.

I searched in every crack of the drier that I could reach for the other half of the pair, and in the washer, too.  I never found it.  After crying for about five seconds, I put the lone earring on my jewelry tray, thinking that the other was lost to the washer/dryer forever.

But last night something amazing happened!  When I pulled the lint trap out of the dryer this time, I heard a pulse-quickening rattle.  This time I was filled with positivity: could it be?  It was!  My other earring was returned to me at last!  Every nook and cranny was filled with lint and the pair still requires a good cleaning (ironic, no?), but I have a complete set once more.