Tales from Mr.Stranger

I found a penny on the ground today. 

I looked at it, picked it up and thought, "Well, they say this brings good luck". So, I slipped it into my wallet.

And boy, was I lucky.

I had one of those, unexpected encounters that completely brightens your day.

I was at one of my usual local coffee shops, laptop open, headphones on while sipping an iced coffee (an absolute must in this heat!). I´d been writting down ideas for future blog posts for a while and after listing about ten of them, I just stared at the page.

"Great, I have plenty of ideas but...which one do I pick now?"

(I´m sure many of you have been there before)

Right then, an old man who looked like he had lived a thousand lives sat down at the table next to mine. I noticed him glancing over my direction every now and then. Once his latte and toast with olive oil arrived, he finally spoke to me.

"Excuse me, I hope I´m not bothering you, but you remind me so much of Nazila"

Every great conversation has an unexpected beginning. And since I´m completely incapable of letting curiosity pass me by, I just had to ask. (Long story short: We talked for almost three hours LOL)

He started by telling me he used to be a ship captain and had spent a huge part of his life traveling because of it. Which was great because he was the kind of person who simply couldn´t stay still in one place for too long. He had lived in several countries. It was during a chapter of his life in England that he met Nazila, a young woman who had emigrated from Teheran (Iran) with her family.

He spoke about her with a tenderness that really caught my attention. He said she had a special presence, the kind that makes you want to stick around and talk. He perfectly remembered her dark long hair and her eyes, always framed by heavy black makeup. Details that decades hand´t managed to erase. Seeing him talk about her with so much affection after all this time was truly beautiful. And that I reminded him of her felt like a huge compliment.

Then he told me about his life in California, where he met his wife. He also talked about his two daughters: Elena and Lucía. According to him, Elena inherited his more responsible, academic side, while Lucía took after his artistic, adventurous streak-the kind of person who from one day to another packs everything up and sudendly she´s living in the other corner of the world.

He also shared stories about the years he spent roaming Spain after his divorce. He never stayed more than three years in a place. Between stories about that he mentioned that a few years ago, he completed a degree in Psychology simply for the pure joy of learning. He didn´t plan on practicing, he just wanted to expand his knoledge. And even though he barely remembered the five languages he used to speak when he was young, his knoledge of Latin and ancient Greek was still fresh!

Later on, he told me about how it felt moving back to his hometown here in northern Spain. Traveling had given him incredible experiences, an open mind and a great ability to adapt and learn fast. But it also came with a cost.

He was now back home, yet the streets had changed, many of his old acquaintances were gone and others had never become more than just acquaintances. He was home...but he was alone.

At one point he apologized for the "massive monologue". He explained that loneliness sometimes drove him to strike up conversations with strangers whenever he felt they might have an interesting aura. It didn´t always work out; some people weren´t interested, others just wanted to get on with their day...Honestly, I told him he didn´t need to apologize at all. I love these kinds of unexpected encounters.

Unfortunately, my break was about to finish and I had to get back. So, as a farewell, he left me with two quotes.

"If you take anything away from this conversation, let it be these two maxims from the Oracle of Delphi

The first: Know thyself

The second: Nothing in excess is good"

These two reflections I was already familiar with, thanks to my love for Greece and its mythology. But hearing them at that exact moment, after all we had talked about just hit different. 

And just like that, I went back to my routine. I left with a memory that will probably stay with me for a long time, some great advice and some interesting perspectives on life. I also left with the name on Nazila, which I will keep close to my heart from now on.

The borrowed memory of a woman I never met, but whom, for a brief moment, someone thought they saw in me.

Thank you, lucky penny, for crossing my path with this gentleman today.

That´s all for now :)

Stay curious, my ghouls.

Your internet Spanish girl says bye-bye!!!