The old woman and a friend

Five of us started walking towards the tiger’s nest
My destination seemed so far away
They kept me company
One of my friends moved on
And a little later, I moved ahead, walking alone
I stopped by to take pictures
My destination was getting closer and seemed clearer
I sat by the side with my eyes closed for a few minutes
I opened my eyes with tears in them
I felt the trees around me, they talked to me, it was just me and them
I continued walking
The destination was closer, I had to walk down the hill and again up another
I saw my friend waving from the distance, he had reached there already
I walked down the hill and looked up, the black hills seemed so huge
I saw a lone tree blissfully swaying with happiness on the top of the hill
It was like me, I thought, but for the bliss
The path took me up the hill again
I felt strange, confused
I had so many questions about myself, the hills, the trees, my friend, the people on my path, love and everything in between
A very old lady was walking down the steps, towards me, with her granddaughter I suppose
As soon our paths met, she hugged me out of the blue, A hug that I cannot forget, I can still feel it
She then told the girl to take a picture of the two of us
She then looked at me, something magical happened
I looked back at her
I started walking up again, tears started flowing from my eyes from nowhere
I knew what they meant
These tears that have come before as well, but this time it was different
I walked a little more and my friend was waiting
My friend didn’t talk, he was silent, he knew what was happening somehow
He touched my head, more like a blessing, and sat beside me
I sat by the stone bench for a while with my eyes closed
Tears just flowed, The magic continued
It felt magical, eternal
I was a different person when I opened my eyes
After a while, the others joined as well
We went around the beautiful monastery
On our way back, my friend walked along with me, while the others were a few feet behind
The walk made him my best friend
He told me one thing — “You are the love that you are seeking. Love is inside you. You don’t have to go searching or longing for it. “
Bhutan, the old woman, and a friend made all the difference to that day and to my life!
Gratitude!