Prompt

Describe a random encounter with a stranger that stuck out positively to you.

There were a couple of those encounters in my life.

There was the time two strangers hugged me. One November night in Brussels. After a concert of the absolute awesome band Her Name is Calla. They played a brilliant set. Took pics with fans and gave autographs. They were stars that night. And even though they had invited me for the gig, I was almost certain that I was forgotten after the show… I told the story of Adam and Tom often. It is one of the most important encounters of my adult life. To these strangers, I was a music lover, I was a woman, I was Cathy. I was not reduced to being the mom of, the partner of… I was just me. And they liked that person. They had drunk and laughed and sung with that person. An entire night long. And at the end of that night, they hugged me. Here comes the sentence I always write or mention: they hugged me so tightly that some broken pieces of my soul found a way back together. Cheesy? Maybe. But it is the truth for sure.

There was the time I spent a weekend with two strangers. It’s been on my mind a lot lately. In a good way. A very good way. I am not sure I would drive to the Netherlands like this again. But I did that weekend. I celebrated a birthday with them. And we had some very awesome days. Things happened that didn’t happen since. Which makes it all the more special. If I had just been less weird that weekend we would probably still be in touch. But, no need for regrets, I made those once in a lifetime memories. I will never forget.

And there was that time when I told a homeless addict the time and he treated me as if I had just given him a million bucks. I remember that moment very well. I was late for a job interview and this man approached me. I was almost certain he would ask for money, but he asked for the time. I told him and his face lit up. He then told me that he had asked several people and they had all ignored him. He also told me that they had all looked through him as if he didn’t exist. His expression became sad. He thanked me for having helped him out and for having held eye contact with him. Apparently, he was not used to that anymore. This certainly stuck with me.

It’s all me me me, but those or just 3 encounters that stayed with me and changed something inside of me. How about you? ❤️