The puzzle pieces come together
I was waiting to get picked up from the Cuba Mall in Wellington. Was it a coincidence that the driver was ten minutes late? I met a nineteen-year-old named Taylor.
As I put the “Hiding In Unnatural Happiness” in her hand and introduced myself, she exclaimed under her breath, almost in disbelief, “I just had a conversation yesterday . . .”
Taylor explained that she is on her gap-year, traveling with her mother after finishing high school in Melbourne. Recounting the previous day’s events, she said that she had argued with her mother and been kicked out by her and was staying at a hostel. I empathized with her and appreciated that
she looked okay despite that.
I asked about the conversation Taylor had referred to.
The previous night, she had ended up in a bar after everything that had happened with her mother. She was talking to another person who was also at the bar alone, and their conversation was of a nature that one wouldn’t expect to have at a bar. The man spoke about “Hare Krishna.”
When I affirmed that these books were “Hare Krishna,” she reacted to the obvious arrangement of events and happily took the book, gave a donation, and also enthusiastically accepted a Bhagavad Gita. I invited and encouraged her to visit Bhakti Lounge. I really hope that she makes it.
Your servant,
Amani Gaurahari Dasa
