A skeptic by definition, I don’t really believe our dearly departed smile upon us and help us with our everyday problems, like finding the damn car keys. Would be quite odd since I don’t have a car. Yet, there are moments when the Universe speaks to us. That’s how it felt last night when I went to the nearby park to clear my head and have a smoke. Feeling very low and not in a mood for a long walk I spotted from afar the nearest empty bench and decided it would do. And there it was, this shiny little thing waiting for me. I was not sure what it was. A broken pocket watch someone left behind? A compass, as unlikely as that would be? Nope. Turns out the little round thing was a portable ashtray. A bit unusual a find as here you stump the cigarette butt on the ground like everyone else.
The moment I managed to open it I knew exactly what it was - a gift from my father, who must have smoked plenty of cigarettes in this park. Since he was not in my life, I guess it was high time he did something nice for me. Like be there for me, for a change. “Here, child, you are not alone. Sit down and have a cigarette. It would do you good.” (No need to frown, he approved of smoking. What can you do?)
As I was heading home with my gift, I took special care to go on the street where my grandparents and parents once lived. They’re very small and quite similar streets and many times I take the wrong one. On the fence next to the old family house that no longer exists I find this - a broken clock. Pink. I don’t know about you but I don’t like clocks that have stopped working. Bad omen. I did not take the clock as it might have belonged to some kid on the street, not to mention I cannot stand ticking clocks.
I puzzled for a long time over the meaning of this find. What is the Universe trying to tell me? My hour of what exactly? Something about time passing?
In the end I settled on a Romanian saying. When someone is going through a rough time and there’s nothing they can do about it, you can always recommend them “patience and tobacco”. Keep calm. This too shall pass.