The clock ticked past midnight a few minutes ago. Everybody else has gone to bed. I’m sitting here in the dark, turning thoughts over in my head.
I walked into town at lunchtime with my youngest daughter to get lunch and to replace the toothpaste I’ve been stealing from my eldest daughter for the last few days - she apprehended me about it yesterday.
While walking, we passed a lady walking in the opposite direction which caused me to stop in my tracks and turn around - half expecting her to be looking over her shoulder at me.
My daughter stopped too and asked what was wrong.
The lady was the absolute double of an old friend. Somebody I knew on the internet a few years ago - that I had lost touch with. Somebody that lives on the other side of the world.
As we passed, our eyes met, and she looked at the floor. She didn’t look back over her shoulder.
Throughout the rest of the walk into town, she played on my mind. I expected to arrive home and find her standing outside our house - waiting. All manner of situations played out in my mind that might explain her presence - and how we might greet each other.
She wasn’t waiting for me. It wasn’t her.
It knocked me sideways for the rest of the day.
I don’t think you realise how much you miss somebody until they’re right in front of you again.
It’s that old story about us being leaves weaving our way down a river - sometimes travelling together for a time, finding our own way, becoming lost, but being forever changed by the time we spend together - no matter how long or short that time might be.
We go forwards though. We have to. Life doesn’t stand still, and it doesn’t rewind. The machinery of the universe continues to turn and continues to cross paths.
You never know what tomorrow may bring. While you may unwittingly say goodbye to somebody for the last time, you may say hello to a stranger that will change your life.