Random encounters and caramel nights

I saw a woman on the train platform the other night who looked remarkably like a friend of mine from back home. Not a twin-like resemblance, but rather close. Close enough that I had to get closer to make sure it wasn't her.

We wound up sitting across from each other, and I saw that the woman next to her was reading one of my favorite books, and I told her so. After that woman exited, my friend lookalike started talking to me. There was an easy quality to our conversation that made me certain we would be friends if it wasn't just a chance encounter on a train but rather a more prolonged conversation. I know because that's how I've started all of my best friendships. She had bright eyes and an open face. I told her how she looked like my friend, and I think both of us wished that the train ride was longer, but after discussing our travelling lives and cities we'd both lived in, as well as her sister being in medical school and our professions, she had to go.

Part of why I love public transportation and travelling really is the people that you meet - I've had some great conversations on planes and trains and buses that stay with me. These random connections to strangers are part of what makes life incredibly appealing, and my sojourns more meaningful. It's a good thing, too, because I travel so much for my job.

Tonight was a perfect night too - with a sweet wind that caressed my face and spun my hair. These are what I call caramel nights - nights where the gentleness and beauty overwhelm the senses and you just want to drink it all in. Nights pregnant with possibility, nights that I fall in love with the city and my surroundings. These are the evenings that taste like caramel - sweet, creamy and rich with flavors that you want to hold onto forever. Small treasured moments that you savor but which ultimately melt away. Good night, sweet night.