Encounter

I do what I’ll do when there’s free time on a tour
Head out into the wilds of the place where we are
Far from the tourists’ beaten path
Into the surrounding areas, the suburbs
Farther and farther from the bustle, as time allows
To see homes, and yards, and whatever else
I’d never encounter if I were souvenir shopping the High Street

It’s late for lunchtime but I’m hungry
And rounding a corner I come upon a small shop
What I’d call a tea room, with four little tables
The entrance under a bright yellow and red striped awning
Where an elderly woman sits fanning herself
(Reminding myself that I’d now be described as ‘elderly’, too)

She hails me and tells me, in a heavy accent
That I look hungry, as if she knows me
Which to my affirmative she says she doesn’t have much left
Soup and good bread if I’m interested
Then brings me a bowl of what I’d call, back in Hawai‘i jook
A rice gruel, although this is a grain I can’t identify
And thick slices of brown bread that look like stone but break apart
Like a muffin, taste a cross between sweet and savory

She says she has red wine and still water, and I ask for the wine
She returns, apologetic that the last of the wine was served earlier
And places a glass of water on the table, then smiles
Standing to the side as I eat, wanting, I suppose
To know if I like the food, which I do
So tell her this, making her day, it seems
Clapping her hands together softly and beaming

I ask for the bill, and she fans her hands in front of her
Saying ‘No, no, no’, apologizing again for offering the wine
When there was none left to give me
As I take a few steps to the door, I turn back
See she is headed for the kitchen
And quickly place 10 Euros on a table and walk out

After another hour or so exploring the outer limits of the city
I decide I’d like to go back the way I came
To say a last goodbye to the elderly woman
But on the way back I decide to take another route to the city center
Not wanting to come to that spot where she was and find she was never there