Vera woke up early in the morning. She was very excited. She had an appointment at the ferry terminal. The appointment was for a ticket collection. She put on her coat and picked up her bag. She walked to the ferry terminal. The terminal was big and busy. There were many people with suitcases and bags. Vera looked around the large building. She saw a long row of desks. She walked to the information desk. A man was sitting behind the desk. He had a blue uniform and a friendly smile. Vera smiled back at him. "Hello," said Vera. "I am here for my appointment." The man looked at his computer screen.

"What is your name?" he asked. "My name is Vera," she said. The man looked again at the screen. He looked a little confused. "I am sorry," he said. "I cannot find your appointment today." Vera felt surprised. She opened her bag and took out a letter. She read the letter carefully. Her face went red. The appointment was not today. The appointment was tomorrow. She looked at the man. "Oh no," she said quietly. "I came on the wrong day." The man smiled kindly. "Do not worry," he said. "It happens to many people."

Vera felt a little embarrassed but she was also happy. She was happy because she had time now. She sat down on a bench near a big window. She could see the water and the boats outside. The boats were very beautiful. She took out her phone and looked at her calendar. She added a reminder for the next day. "I will not forget again," she said to herself. Then she bought a cup of tea from a small shop in the terminal. She sat and drank her tea slowly. She watched the boats on the water. After a while, she felt much better. She laughed a little at herself. "Tomorrow," she said. "Tomorrow is my day."

Vera arrived at the ferry terminal just after eight o'clock, pulling her bag behind her and feeling quietly pleased with herself for being so organized. The terminal was already humming with activity: passengers wheeled their luggage across the wide floor, announcement boards flickered with departure times, and the smell of coffee drifted from a nearby kiosk. She made her way confidently to the customer services desk, where a staff member in a neat uniform greeted her with a polite nod. "Good morning," Vera said, sliding her booking confirmation across the counter. "I'm here to collect my ticket for the nine o'clock crossing." The staff member studied the screen for a moment, then looked up with a slightly apologetic expression. "I'm very sorry," he said carefully, "but I can't find any record of your appointment for today." Vera frowned and asked him to check again, certain that there must be an error in the system. He scrolled through the bookings patiently while she waited, gripping the strap of her bag a little tighter than usual.

After a moment, he turned the monitor slightly so she could see the screen herself. The name was there, clearly listed, but the date beside it was not today's date. Her stomach sank as she pulled the confirmation letter from her bag and read it properly for the first time. The appointment was scheduled for the following morning, not this one. She had misread the date when she first looked at the letter, assuming the number she saw was today's. "I completely misread it," she admitted, feeling her cheeks grow warm. "I'm so sorry to have wasted your time." The staff member shook his head with a reassuring smile. "Not at all," he said.

"This is more common than you might think." Although Vera felt a little foolish, she decided not to let the mistake ruin her morning. She found a comfortable seat by the large windows overlooking the water, where ferries were moving steadily in and out of the harbor. Taking out her phone, she updated her calendar and set two separate reminders for the correct appointment time so that she would not make the same mistake twice. She ordered a coffee from the kiosk she had noticed earlier and spent the next hour simply watching the boats, feeling the tension gradually leave her shoulders. By the time she stood up to leave, she was almost grateful for the error. "At least I know exactly where to go tomorrow," she said quietly to herself, smiling as she walked back out into the morning.