The Joy of Connection

An old, crumbling stone wall lined the sides of the unpaved road. Joy didn’t recognize where she was. She wasn’t even sure how long she had been walking.

There was something surreal about this place, as if she had stumbled through an invisible portal from one world into another. Joy was convinced she had never seen this road, these ruined walls, the clusters of trees and houses ever before in her life. Yet she had always lived in the same little city for her whole life. She thought she had explored every inch of it on one of her nature walks.

But there she was, having stumbled upon a completely different world, secreted away behind some alleyway or a field where she had never wandered before.

Part of her was afraid and another part was excited. Joy felt her heart racing as she blinked up at the sun, raising a hand to shield her eyes against the brilliant brightness. The sky was dazzling and clear, and endless. This thrill of being somewhere perfectly new ran through her whole body, every cell within her being began vibrating with excitement.

She drew in a deep breath. She didn’t know where she was, but instead of looking around for a way back home, she decided to keep walking. It was almost as if she expected something to be at the end of the path. An inner knowing tugged her forward, like her soul knowing where she was going even though her mind did not.

She came to the end of the wide road and turned, heading down a narrow corridor of trees. There were tall, stone walls to the left and nothing but trees to the right. Bright, orange flowers lined the path. Joy crouched down to examine one. Marigolds, she realized.

Joy didn’t really know that much about flowers, but these stood out. Their cheerful countenance and fiery hues were memorable, and there were buds, petals and sprouts all around her.

Birds sang gently, their music drifting across the narrow space in a serenade. There was no one else around. Joy was alone, connecting with the peaceful air, the sway of the trees, the warm sunshine, the breeze playing with the leaves. She didn’t stop to question where the people were or how she’d ended up here. It didn’t seem to matter just then.

It was so quiet that she could hear every footfall as the soft dirt shifted gently under her feet. The sounds of her own breathing filled her ears like thunder. She slowed down, counting each breath.

She had rarely been so at rest while simultaneously awake and absorbing all the sights, sounds, and scents around her. Joy carried on her path, still breathing slowly, not thinking anything other than the here and now. Everything around her felt full of life, buzzing with the energy of being alive.

Soon, Joy came around a curve in the path and was confronted with a sudden blaze of sunshine in her eyes as she stumbled into the abrupt clearing. She glanced behind her to see the orange-blazed path of marigolds behind her, seeing how narrow and forested it had appeared, yet how small it really was. It had been nothing more than a dense copse of gentle greenery, a pocket of peace hidden away under an open sky. Joy turned again towards the clearing shielding her eyes and ready to step forward.

As she did so, Joy saw a small blue car parked just across the road, leaning a little ways into the dry, grassy ditch. She hadn’t been able to see anything at first because of the sun in her eyes. Leaning against the back of the car, with one leg crossed in front of the other, wearing sunglasses and a smile, was a man. She couldn’t place him and she didn’t know why but he felt completely familiar to Joy. She couldn’t clearly make out his features but when she looked at him, she felt like she was home.

A distant thought crept back into her consciousness. Where was she? When was she? How had she found her way here, now, and not before? But she allowed the questions to fade and she stepped forward again. The man removed his sunglasses and smiled directly at her and she locked gazes with him.

Then she felt the shock, the jolt of recognition as she knew exactly who he was and that he was expecting her. Part of her must have known he would be there. Nothing could have kept them separated forever. The universe had pulled their souls together, as they had always known would happen.

Joy ran across the road, clouds of dust flying up from under her sandals as her feet hit the crunchy gravel. She ran into his strong, sturdy arms. She had never before felt his heart beating under her face as she rested her head against his chest. They had never touched. But they were drawn together now as they always should have been. They would never be apart again.