CONVERSATION

“The most important thing in all human relationships is conversation, but people don’t talk any more, they don’t sit down to talk and listen.  They go to the theatre, the cinema, watch television, listen to the radio, read books, but they almost never talk…”—Paulo Coelho, The Zahir

          The fire blazed in the small room, raising the temperature of its surroundings as the warm air expanded and spread deeper into the home.  Outside, the world was dark and blanketed in snow that shone a muted violet in the meek light of a night that, through clouds, and falling snow, still bore light…somehow, somewhere.

          Reading alone, the words struck him.  It was something that he missed, longed for—conversation—not the small talk, but the kind that kindles and shows souls.  Such were never something one could plan, count on, or expect. 

          They just happen: little lived miracles when one witnesses and learns another in living presence. 

          He remembered them back when he drank, when it was only the last few awake, when the drunk weakened and the mind—guard still fallen—shared itself in ways that, risen, remained only thoughts.      

          There were other times they lived—little moments that didn’t seem to matter—when amongst an almost-stranger, one believes a conversation won’t matter so we aren’t afraid to show and share, and, after, realize that these are some of the moments we remember best, and we hold the almost-stranger with a special affinity because, unlike most in this world, we glimpsed into their heart. 

          He wanted to talk.  He wanted to share, but how? 

          How do you begin the conversation?  It was simple enough—just do it—but the longer you think the greater its perceived gravity, and what is really but a simple beginning becomes a burden and the start never speaks. 

          He wanted to know her, learn her, discover who she was, but how?  He took hold of a pen and opened a black leather journal where he wrote alone:

          “How do I talk to you?  How may I learn you?  How do I start a conversation?  What do you like to talk about?  What lights you up?  What are little things you enjoy and that make your day?  I wish I knew.”

          The most important thing in all human relationships is conversation.  He hoped for conversation but settled for a story.

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