From a distance, she had appeared much younger but up close, I saw that she was in her mid or late forties and that she was gazing at the bag in my hand. “I didn’t expect to see anyone here,” I told her.
“Yes, I can see that. I must have taken you by surprise.”
“You showed up from nowhere. I just returned from one of my treks to see if there was anyone else so it’s strange seeing you here.” I didn’t mention that her vague familiarity, from a distance, had stoked my hope that, somehow, she was here because of me.
“A trek?” Her lips turned up in a smile and her eyelids crinkled down at the same time. The expression added a few years to her age and also granted her more assurance, as if she was a woman of great experience. “You make it sound so adventurous. It’s just a forgotten place. Whi
