Skip to main content

Featured

At The Train Station

It’s been three years since I last set foot in a train station. I, the nomad, have taken root. Naturally curious, I enjoy studying the characters that inhabit certain public places. Y et here, nothing has really changed: though the faces are different, I recognize them all. . * * * Sitting on a large duffel bag, leaning against a wall—there’s the student. He mutters to himself, eyes fixed on a thick blue binder, and despite all the noise filling the station, nothing could tear him away at this hour from his studies. A little further off, I spot a family waiting to greet one of their relatives. The father and mother chat together, glancing every five minutes at the clock. The children play, dart between their legs, circle around them, tap each other shouting, “Tag!” then burst into laughter; they bring into this hall the fresh, colorful breeze of youth. The father looks impatient, but on his face I can read a certain joy; he seems to be holding back a smile. As for the mother, however...

The Backpack

In my childhood bedroom, now turned into a catch-all storage room, I gaze at this enormous army backpack—found at a flea market—which will soon become both my inseparable companion and my only refuge… It is high time for me to leave this society behind.

Even with my now minimalist needs, I know that despite its imposing size, it won’t be able to hold everything I wish to take with me… No matter. I’m certain that providence will provide for all I need—just as it already does today… This backpack will be my rediscovered freedom, my homeland, my church, and the culmination of a long and beautiful journey I never imagined I’d travel so far.

And perhaps, as the days go by, it will become a bag of dreams, a bag of adventures… in which I’ll gather sunrises and sunsets, birdsong, the joy of walking through undergrowth, and along ridgelines, sunrays on my skin, the wind tousling my hair, the sound of rushing streams, the scent of campfires, the taste of pilgrim cakes cooked with herbs from the trail, serendipitous encounters, my laughter and my dances in the rain… and all those smiles that light up my lips whenever I think of you…


 

Comments

Popular Posts