A 99-year-old man who pinched a towel from a hotel 44 years ago has finally returned it after being tortured by his conscience for decades.
Nahim Alcure had stayed at the Plaza Hotel Colatina, in the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo, for a week during a family trip in 1980 and found the towel in his luggage when he came home.
He said that although he always planned to return it, he never quite got around to it until he found the towel neatly folded and stored in a pillowcase at home in April.
Despite his age, Nahim, a former mayor, insisted on travelling personally 180 kilometres (111 miles) to the hotel to give them back their towel.
He told local media that he had been staying at the hotel in 1980 with his son, who was taking his law degree entrance exams at the time.
Nahim said: “I stayed at the hotel for a week and when I went to unpack my suitcase, I discovered that I had taken a towel by mistake.
“I moved several times over the years and ended up forgetting about it and did not know where it was.
“But when it appeared again, I insisted on returning it.”
Nahim only found the towel after his brother died and they began going through old items.
His daughter Najla Leal explained: “After he passed away, we started organising some things and found the towel stored inside a pillowcase.
“Everywhere he lived, he took the pillowcase, but it’s a mystery that it didn’t get lost during so many moves.”
Nahim said he was relieved when the hotel staff welcomed him warmly when he gave them back the towel.
He said: “It took a weight off my shoulders.
“The girl at the hotel said she thought the act was important, thanked me, and insisted on taking a photo.
“They asked why I kept the towel for so long. But honesty is a virtue, not a duty.
“They said that they still use those towels with the hotel’s name embossed on them.
“And, to store it, they said they’re going to put it in a frame.”
The hotel plans to frame it and put it on display inside the building near the restaurant.
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