A Gentle Sunset

I have watched the sunset from my perch on the second story of this rented house for four months in a row now. Who does that? Ever?

Tonite it was a most gentle one. No big blaze of glory, simply a slow fade out behind thick clouds. A new moon visible, high above my head, swathed in mist, and a few planets poking thru the high clouds.  The ocean had quieted down as well, the swells slow and languid, and less then a meter high, breaking gently, unlike the last few weeks.

This place is slowly changing me into who I have always been.

I met two young people last week. Luke and Alanna, from Vermont. They were at one of the local vegetable storefronts. Luke was speaking in Spanish to the owner, a thing I am still struggling with. I remarked how I wished I could, and we struck up a conversation, at the end of which I invited them to share a meal with me. They are spending the year traveling. Mazunte is their last stop before heading home to their summer jobs, as camp counselors. They met there a few years ago. She is 21, with one more year of college to go. He is 19, and may begin college in the fall. Unlike Alanna, who is an artist and who is seeking a degree in Art History, Luke is unsure what he wants to do.

We have had dinner together several times now, twice at restaurants, and once at my house.  We have shared something of each other’s history, and we have 3 very different backgrounds. Yet we have connected, I suppose because we share perspectives. For example, if there is nothing that needs saying, the silence is fine for a while. A few minutes, or fifteen, it matters not. We are comfortable in our own thoughts.