This happened 40 years ago, but has always stuck in my memory.
I settled into my seat with a sigh of relief. My young son curled up on the seat beside me, peering out of the grimy window. My partner was sitting behind me, asleep already, with my two-year old daughter beside him. At last I could relax from the horrendous 4 day train journey we had just undertaken from Tunis to Casablanca. I was tired of being molested by Algerian men who thought nothing of putting their hands on my thighs or brushing against my breasts despite the fact that I was travelling with my partner and with two very small children. It made no difference to them. I was not a person with feelings, I was an object of desire.
Then from behind came a hand on my shoulder. My own hand formed a fist – I was in no mood for any more physical contact. Before I could turn around I heard someone exclaim my name. As I turned my head, a face I instantly recognised appeared before me – my best friend’s ex-boyfriend, Merv from Bradford, England. I gasped, and stood up to hug him tightly. How could this even be possible? The last I had heard of him, he was in Melbourne, Australia. The last he had heard from me, I was in Johannesburg and married to an Englishman. That was two years ago. A lot had happened since.
As the bus from Casablanca to Tangiers began to shakily move off, we stood looking at each other with huge wide grins on our faces – what a serendipitous moment!
~wander.essence~ On Journey
What a great story, Jude! Isn’t it so strange, and such a coincidence, when you meet someone you know in far-flung and unlikely places? I love it. I also love how you describe all your previous encounters with brazen Algerian men, and how you were prepared to dock whoever it was who put a hand on your shoulder! I was waiting for a fight, so what a surprise to find a long-lost friend. Thanks for linking up, Jude. I’ll add this to my next journey post on March 20. 🙂
That’s amazing Jude!
It was extraordinary. We lost touch again shortly after this.
And yet I’ve heard similar stories from others about meeting someone they knew in some far away land completely by chance. It’s a small world at times.