Lonely heart

So, something a little odd happened in Holland.

I went into a shop and in my usual fashion asked the proprietor what I should buy. He looked at me and recommended one of his products, which, according to the description, sounded just right. I asked how he knew, and he said, "I use stones. I can see inside people."

OK... not what I'd expected. I asked what he saw in me and he said he'd be sick if he told me, so I said, don't tell me, but he carried on, saying he could tell me some of what he saw. He said, "You are looking for happiness. You are seeking, seeking meaning, but you don't know where to go, and, inside, you are lonely."

I thanked him and wished him well, sending prayers that he would not be sick.

Outside, I thought that he could easily have guessed this... and that like a horoscope, one always feel that the reading fits. And yet.

Around the corner, I heard the clopping of hooves. Two female police officers on gorgeous Dutch Sport Horses, a bay and a chestnut. I said hello, to the horses, and the bay turned toward me, walked up and stopped right in front of me. The woman was laughing, saying she hadn't asked him to stop. I rested my head against his forehead, stroked his neck and muzzle, spoke to him. The police officers wanted to go, but the horse did not. The rider had to make him, "He likes you!" she said.

It felt... serendipitous.

The first tree I sat with, outside the hotel, was a big old poplar who'd seen better days.

Trees are always friends. Well, often they are. And so I am seldom fully alone.