“Connor, you old fool!” the first man roared inexplicably, then strode toward me, his arms wide. I glanced behind myself, but I was his sole potential target.
In a flash, I understood that I had been mistaken for a man known here. My spirits began to lift. It was the manner of moment that made me question whether divine providence might exist after all. It seems absurd that I could be so fortunate, but fortunate I have been in the past, and fortunate I clearly was again.
“What possessed you to take the old road on a day so wretched as this?” this stranger demanded, before enveloping me in a hug so hearty that he nigh cracked my bones.
I laughed, then punched his shoulder as if we were familiar. I had listened enough these past weeks that I could make a fair approximation of their manner
