I looked up and there was a woman sitting on the curb, bike leaning against my fence.
I startled her, which startled and saddened me because I felt I had suddenly made her uncomfortable. I could see her thinking that maybe she wasn't supposed be there, that I might have thought that her bike was disturbing the fence in some way.
She defended with a smile and said hello. I smiled and said hello, but I wanted to say more.
I wanted to tell her that it's ok for her to stay. That is was a beautiful day and the leaves were falling. That I like the sound they make as they swish along the concrete and that I wonder if she does too. That it felt like a kind of sacred honor that at that moment in her life she chose to rest in the shade of my home.
But I said none of that and kept walking and glanced just as her tire disappeared around the corner.
[Event Date: 241116]