By the Letter – 5 –
Encouraged by her new insights about family, Deirdre was quick out on the path again the next day; she wanted to learn more. Her sore knee had improved considerably and she stretched her walk. Everything felt so easy—path up and down—no problem. Even her breathing had changed, as if already she’d gotten in better shape.
This day felt different in so many ways, and the weather was different, too. There was the same chilly wind, but the clouds had become like a blanket covering the sky entirely. They reflected the moisture constantly produced by the sea; none escaped beyond them.
Deirdre quickly returned to yesterday’s side path even though nothing pointed in that direction this cloudy day. That didn’t matter—the feeling of breathing freely had entered her spirit, and she didn’t want to interrupt that.
And there was so much more going on in her mind, including a feeling that her family was sharing her joy. She loved her children dearly, and her husband, too, and the sense of a reunion here on a cliff path far away took her by surprise. In spite of the dull weather she illuminated the path before her, and the joy she felt out walking was reflected by the sky. Deirdre was not alone for a second; the company she had felt back at the restaurant was trying to tell her something, and she was eager to listen.
During that last stretch of path to the
The wind held its breath; no sound was heard. Deirdre turned around to look, but no one was there or even approaching. At that point she didn’t know what to do. The clouds came closer, lowering, reflecting her presence even more.
That tiny hand she felt grabbing hers made her start to walk again confidently, and as she did, another grasped her other hand, and she sped up to almost a run. The presence of her children coming up from behind became intense.
The
The restaurant down there looked deserted, and Deirdre hesitated for a moment. She felt a firm arm coming up from behind, holding her by the waist, tightly. Deirdre swirled around to look, but she could not see who was holding her.
She did feel her husband, taking her down the last bit of trail to the restaurant, with her children joyfully leading the way.
Once there she ordered yet another cappuccino to have outside, but this time she didn’t sit down expectedly, waiting for her friend to show up—she was already there waiting.
Deirdre introduced her family to her, and the meeting felt to her as if it had been long expected. They were not strangers, that much Deirdre was certain of, and whatever might happen she didn’t want to interfere. For a moment she felt like observing, as her children approached her friend with deep respect. Soon after, her husband did the same. Their meaningful contact touched Deirdre deeply.
After she had finished her cappuccino, together they continued on the path back to town. With wide eyes Deirdre registered the respect and care with which her family treated her friend. To her now, comparing what she saw with her previous experiences from back home, this all felt very strange.
It seemed that what her friend represented to them was home, a place to be, a place to feel welcome in spite of whatever life throws at you. But Deirdre knew her children, at least she thought so, and she hadn’t seen them behave like this before. Her husband’s unconditional respect took her by surprise, too.
They all said goodbye to her friend respectfully at the same place where Deirdre and she had separated the day before. Suddenly Deirdre felt alone, like something had left her, and as she walked away she looked back more than once.
But something had changed; her children and husband were still there, accompanying her on the path, but not as she knew them from back home. The strong sense of touch felt close; their gentle embraces made the sun break through the wall of clouds above.
Whatever happened there on the last bit of the path took Deirdre by storm. She wasn’t sure yet how to address all these feelings, but as she left the path to walk the road back to her apartment, the new sunlight warmed both her back and the core of her soul.
It wasn’t that Deirdre was missing her children, and similarly she didn’t miss her husband either. While walking the road she started to smile. It all felt so familiar, like nothing really had changed. As she left the path her family’s presence started to fade away. But, good God, suddenly she felt free. How on Earth could that be? Deirdre was puzzled, and she brought that puzzled feeling back to her apartment to verify with her book.
That evening stretched in moment, but not in time, and Deirdre fell asleep early, confident that her next day out on the path would offer more.
