Theft by Katherine Anne Porter

Yet another short short story - a mere 3 pages long, but the story envelopes so many ideas. This story is about having "lost" not only physical possessions but also the loss of youth. A woman in the story leaves her purse sitting out while she takes a bath. The janitress comes in to clean and when the woman goes to get a cigarette from the purse she discovers that it is missing. She decides to confront the janitress who first claims she never saw the purse to forcing it back into the woman's hands along with a guilt trip. The woman has taken everything she has ever had or done for granted, and the janitress is just trying to give something nice to her daughter.