A Chance Encounter (or Something to Say)
I ran into an old friend this morning. She and I had been somewhat close for a while, but it certainly wasn’t any sort of romantic relationship. One day she just vanished.
So this morning on a bid for sustenance, I run into her. Working. I could tell that she was embarrassed. When I’ve run into friends while working, I’ve been terribly embarrassed — knowing that secretly they’re passing judgement on me. That with all of my capabilities and personality, and I’m reduced to working here?!? We talked for a few minutes and I told her that I was pleased to see her again, that I missed her, and that I’m glad that she’s still alive at the least.
I don’t know if she believed me or not, but I was genuinely happy to see her again, if only to know that she was all right (maybe not satisfied, or even very happy, but that she wasn’t living under a bridge). Nevertheless, I scrounged my vocabulary for the words to reassure her — to make her feel better. I wanted something to say that would let her know that I still considered her a friend no matter what has happened.
I guess I failed.