Life has a way of bringing the past back when you least expect it, and for me, that moment came when a familiar stranger walked into my room and changed everything.
So, I’ve lived my life in the quietest way possible, or at least that’s what I always thought. I’m Agatha, in my early 70s now, and I’ve spent most of my days just getting by. I never had a husband or kids and didn’t have much family to speak of, really.
My days were mostly spent at the college cafeteria, where I worked as a cashier for nearly 30 years. Every day, I’d greet students with a smile, scan their meal cards, and wish them luck on their exams.
I saw countless faces pass by, most of them too young to understand the loneliness that creeps into your bones as you age. But I was content, or at least I told myself I was.
We watched as the driver’s side door opened, and out stepped a woman who looked like she belonged on the cover of a fashion magazine. She wore a tailored coat that probably cost more than I’d spent on clothes in the last five years combined. Her hair was loosely tied, adding to her beauty.
She looked like she was in her early 40s, maybe younger: one of those women who seem to defy age altogether.
“Wow, she’s something, isn’t she?” Sarah murmured, her voice tinged with awe.
A woman looking at someone while standing inside a room | Source: Midjourney
The woman’s eyes locked with mine as if she’d seen something she’d been searching for a long time.
“I finally found you,” she said, her voice soft but filled with emotion.
I blinked, completely taken aback. Found me? What could she possibly mean? I didn’t know this woman…did I?
“I’m sorry,” I stammered, trying to make sense of it all, “but I don’t remember you.”