F is for Free Cola and Friends #AtoZChallenge

Dear Readers,

Welcome to the second week of the #Blogging from A to Z  April Challenge 2021. My theme this year is based on the Japanese concept of Ichigo Ichie which means--"What we are experiencing right now will never happen again. And therefore, we must value each moment like a beautiful treasure."

I've put together a collage of such moments which can be seen as chance occurrences, coincidences, pre-destined or random (depending on who you ask) for this month's challenge.

Thank you.

Arti

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Friends

They might not need me; but they might.

I'll let my head be just in sight;

A smile as small as mine might be

Precisely their necessity.

Emily Dickinson

For today's post, let me take you back to a moment in time in December of 1994.

The husband and I were on our honeymoon in Cyprus. I wrote about it on 'C' Day. You may recall, if you read the C post, that the husband was enamoured by his rental Subaru. 

The sun was shining and the sky was blue. We were driving up north to Nicosia from Larnaca. It would be a long, long drive in the rental Subaru. The husband was happy. 

Sometime in the afternoon, while still on the motorway, we felt the need to eat. So, we stopped when we spotted a food truck.

We knew no Greek and English had been enough to communicate with the locals in the cities we'd visited so far.

We looked at the menu and decided to order a doner kabab to share.  We had discovered the doner on our first evening in Larnaca while strolling down the seaside. We were so impressed with its amazing taste and satiety value that for the rest of our stay in Cyprus we ate one everyday. It was 1994. It was also the first time we'd tasted a doner kebab. And the fact that it cost only 1 Cypriot pound helped, too. We were on a budget. 

The lady in the food truck window smiled and asked me something in Greek. I smiled back, extended some money and asked for a kebab and a bottle of water.

"New...new..." she said chirpily and pointed towards my hennaed hands. 

I replied, "Yes, we got married last week."

"Ninos?" she asked, sticking her head and arms out of the window and gesticulating to suggest babies.

"No! No! Not yet."

We paid for the doner and were figuring out whether to sit at the table or stand and eat when we heard her behind us. She was holding two cans of cola and extending them to us she said, "This is for you from me. Congratulations!" 

We were both left speechless by her kindness.

All we had heard from family and friends when they found out that we were going all the way to Cyprus was to be careful, be alert, don't trust easily, etc. etc.--the usual advice but no one had prepared us for this unexpected act of kindness by a stranger managing a food truck on a motorway linking north to south.

I had to get a photo taken with her.

I wish I'd asked her her name. Maybe I did. But I can't recall it now.

She told us that her daughter had been to the UK to study and had made friends with an Indian girl who told her about the henna and the choorra (red and white bangles I was wearing) were signs of new brides.

Kindness can make friends out of strangers in just a moment. But, the memories of such moments can be treasured forever.

Unless you're headed to the Himalayas for sanayaas (renunciation of the world) or are a monk, good friends are essential to live a healthy and happy life. 

Especially, during tough, unpredictable, wobbly times such as these, we all need a kind word, a helpful hand, a smile, a nod, an open heart that is ready to listen without judgement or advice. 

Friendships are like seeds that sprout underground, sending their roots to hold the soil intact within their folds and shoots to peep above ground and be visible as smiles and hugs. These friendship roots provide stability in unstable times. Communities don't grow out of thin air. They need to be be nurtured with attention, time and love--one moment at a time. There has always been a need for kindness in this world of ours. How blessed are those who receive it and those who pay it forward.

And for those who asked for photos of the Subaru, after reading C is for a Cypriot honeymoon, here are two:

Caption: His beloved Subaru with wife

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Do you have a story about kindness of strangers you'd like to share? You know, I'd love to hear. 

This year, I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z  powered by theblogchatter.com