The Woman In The Taxi

This world is full of such amazing people, I just can't help but be joyful each day as I meet interesting people, even if for a brief moment. Today in the taxi a woman sat next to me, she must be in her late forties, but she was in school uniform, wearing a jacket over it so I never even noticed until much later. She started talking to me, as these older women like to do in taxis. We drove past a building with a AVBOB sign and she asked me if I have ever been there, pointing to the building. I said no, and she said, "Sho! It's where they cremate people. You'll hear a crackling sound, then another one, as the bones burn to ashes, then a final loud crack!" and she went on, "They only allow family there."

She was sipping on a can of coke with a straw, quite like a child would. And I responded with a little shock and interest in her more than her story. Was she telling me that she had lost someone in her family? Well, then it's good of her to use such opportunities to talk about it, strangers are less critical, I thought to myself. She continued to tell me that she was from school, a total diversion and a very random one. That's what I enjoyed about my brief experience of meeting this woman whose name I do not know. She uncovered her jacket to show me that she was wearing uniform. It was the usual check skirt, green, with a white shirt and a deep green tie. I was like, wow, that's great! I really meant it. So she told me her younger brother had gone to the same school, and even her uncle and aunt and cousins. She was really proud of the school that she even told me it's name. I forgot it. For me the name was not important, she was the most important person at that moment, the most interesting and amazing person. I smiled and she said, "Yes! I go to school!" with such pride that I just couldn't help but love her. Then a bit of silence, and she went on, based on my accent from our previous conversation, "Where are you from?"

I said Botswana. And with the most adorable expression of surprise or shock she said, "Where in Botswana?" I said Gaborone. "Yho! You look like my relatives, my uncle's children. What's your name? I told her and she told me their surname, hoping I might say I know them and we are related. Ah, time up, I had to get off the taxi.

I thought about her for a very long time. I wondered about her school, about her relatives in Botswana, and about her relative who got cremated. My thoughts from that moment were somehow linked to the encounter I had with her, and I was happy. So maybe after sharing this experience with you I will move on to other thoughts :)