It is funny; I cannot describe how she looked, or what clothes she wore. Only her energy, and the atmosphere around her. We met in the backseat of a shared taxi, going home from the hospital in Gjøvik.
A beautiful, older woman – with a shining smile and such an aliveness in her being.
Already in the moment I entered the backseat and saw her, I knew that I would enjoy the ride. There was never the feeling of sitting beside a stranger.
How can I describe us, and the way we met and talked? As old friends? As open children? Or as birds talking? It happened so easy and light.
When she retired, she had chosen to move to a cabin in the mountains. I could hear in her voice, how much she enjoyed her life, how excited she was; with trips, friends, her electric bicycle, nature and hobbies.
“Some of us never stops”, she said, with eagerness in her eyes, talking about being retired “it can be an inspiration for you younger people.”
I hesitated a moment. How open should I be?
But then… why hide? Why create the tension in myself by holding back? Why keep anything together and pretend life to be different than it is? I am in this life to be real.
“I will never reach the age of retirement”, I said, “but it is still an inspiration – to see the enjoyment of life”. I told her about the cancer, the metastasis and the treatment.
Her children were my age.
“There is one thing I just have to say”, she said with tears in her eyes, in the middle of our talk “I think it is absolutely terrible to think about that someone your age can get a sickness like this. It is not fair”.
I told her that I don’t feel like this, I don’t feel life is a right we have, but a gift we receive – and that I have had such a good life and experienced so much beauty in my life – i feel I have lived more beauty than many who turns hundred years. What can I complain about?
It became a long and beautiful conversation about life, death, travels – what we appreciate and what is important for us in life.
Both laughter and tears filled the backseat of the taxi, and were our roads split – and I was picked up by another taxi – we shared a warm and loving hug.
Afterwards I realized; we didn’t even tell each other our names. And I have laughed a lot about myself, because I usually always try to avoid these shared taxi rides. I have the idea that I don’t like it.
It was a beautiful surprise for me to experience this meeting in a cab. To be reminded that we are not strangers. We are fellow travelers in this mysterious journey of being human. –
So beautiful. So vulnerable. So brutal. So immensely precious.
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