never know what kindness to others might lead to
You never know what consequences will come from showing kindness to others. Apparently, this woman named Natalya and I were meant to cross paths for a time, to help each other. I helped her, and then she helped me.
The world is damn beautiful, magical, and unfathomable...
At the exit, two adult sons were waiting for her, both over forty; they had come for her and were heading to Moscow to find the best bank and exchange euros at the best rate.
Alexander, one of the sons, offered me a ride with them – I also needed to exchange dollars. Moving around inside this monster called Moscow with backpacks, searching for a suitable bank, isn't very cool. And I was terribly tired on top of that; since Saturday I'd been sleeping any old way – sometimes in a chair, sometimes on the floor, constantly on the go, and of course I didn't turn down the help.
– So, should we help you out, O'Harra?
– That would be great, Alexander! 🤝
Natalya believed I had literally saved her; without me, she said, she wouldn't have flown out today. How pleasant it is to help others, oh gods... Such wonderful sons and such a wonderful mother – together we have another small quest ahead; they are the ones with whom I'll share the coming stretch of my not-last journey.
We drove past several banks and exchanged at the best rate, both for them and for me. The dollar, though, managed to drop from 71.5 to 71 while I stood in line... But it's nothing. I'm not exchanging millions.
We said a warm goodbye and exchanged phone numbers. Alexander lives in St. Petersburg, so I think we'll see each other again.
That's how the world sometimes responds to your sincere desire to help others at the right moment. It's nice to swirl in the ocean of kindness – it's abundant and inexhaustible...
Why? Because kindness, in my opinion, is the main defining quality of a person – love and kindness.
I went to the hotel, and they went to their relatives. That's where our paths diverged. We shook hands and said goodbye...
After that, I took a little walk around the city, bought a couple of things vital for Russia, and the feeling with which I wandered through the city can be summed up in one word – FREEDOM.
Now I truly feel free. To be among my own, to speak in my native and beloved language, to see these faces around me, these smiles my heart understands... I'm bursting with feelings and overflowing with love... The mere idea of being here, on native soil, gives me wings.
And the next morning, another meeting awaited me with a dear friend, Olya, and her wonderful, kind husband Andrey. They were the first ones I told about my adventures in Mexico. Finally saw each other... Our meetings are rare, and I cherish them madly. And our friendship too.
The lunch was wonderful, love you 🤍
What now?
Now home...
To my native lands...
From where I come from –
To Siberia 💞🌲
I long to touch my land, to crumble it and rub it in my palms...
To wander through memorable places tied to so many of my memories... To see the native pines and birches, the native Yenisei...
To see my childhood home again, where I grew up and which has long since ceased to be mine... And yet, every time I come, I go there, I enter that house, I ride the elevator to the 7th floor – an elevator I could easily describe in every detail even now – I reach the iron door made by my father's own hands, and I look at it... And then I leave.
Very soon I'll see those I haven't seen in a long time...
First of all – Mom ❤
Two years have passed since our last meeting...
Gods, how quickly time has flown...
Everything flies, everything changes, and I feel like the same person... looking at the world with the same gaze as thousands of years before this... and in this life... I am the same...
Arthur O'Harra.
17.05.2022