Deep Talk With Strangers

I’m lying on a hammock in Tena, Ecuador and in walks a stunning German girl who appears to have followed me from Banos, Ecuador. The first words out of my mouth “stalker.”

She plays along.

“How old are you, 35? Look at all that gray hair. I didn’t think Jews were supposed to live that long.”

“Might as well finish the job your ancestors left you.”

A steady laugh erupts from her. I smile.

I’ve never made Holocaust jokes like this before, and I realize it’s not something that should be joked about.

It’s serious.

But at that moment the two of us completely understand each other in ways that I think we never would have otherwise.

I spend the whole day with her at the hostel, watching ‘The Terminal,’ making dinner, and watching random YouTube videos which lead to me showing her how to do the around the world aerial dance move.

The entire day I have the urge to kiss her, but the opportunity never presents itself.

To be honest, the opportunity was there, I just didn’t take it. I wish I was more self-righteous.

I wake up mad at myself.

If you don’t take the opportunities that present themselves they may never present themselves again.

I’m white water rafting now, spending the entire day with myself and randoms. There is plenty of time to think in-between the thrill of water splashing over the front of the raft and the terror of floating through a rapids without the protection of the boat (yes, I fell in).

I come to the conclusion I was wrong.

At least partially wrong.

If opportunities present themselves and you miss them, or they never present themselves at all then you need to make your own opportunities.

That’s what I vow to do on that river, I vow try and kiss her.

It proves to be much easier than I thought.

She wants a massage, and I’m happy to oblige.

She reciprocates in good fashion, as we joke about how much better the massages would feel if we had massage oil. I’m still on my stomach and she’s straddling my back.

It’s now or never.

I flip myself over so I can gaze into her eyes. I reach out and grab the back of her head with my hand and slowly pull her face closer to mine.

Our lips touch for the briefest of moments.

We watch another movie and I kiss her again, this time a little more forceful. I can tell she’s holding back, but that’s okay, I don’t blame her.

There is nothing more to our relationship than snuggling in bed. After all, I’m headed back to Quito tomorrow.

Our conversation that evening turns into a conversation you almost never have with a total stranger.

It’s a very deep, meaningful conversation and we discuss everything from sex to problems in our lives.

I tell her about my father, and after ten minutes I realize I’m rambling and look up only to see her staring at me with wondering eyes.

She tells me about problems she’s been having in her life and how she’s tried to overcome them.

It feels cathartic to tell a complete stranger your deepest thoughts.

Her eyes start to shut and her stomach has been in pain all day, so I refill her water bottle and tuck her into bed.

I kiss her on the forehead as she dozes off to sleep.

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