Fall is probably my favorite season. The weather is crisp and cool, the world is changing colors, and the smell of cinnamon and apples fill homes across the country.

It was on a random fall day that I decided to simply walk around my neighborhood, alone.

The woman was training her dog to sit. "He's my brother's," she said. "He's gone, so... I have to train him. How to sit." I nodded, laughed politely.

She was a little stout, short. She might have, or must have had a breathing problem, because there was a thin wire around her throat with a button right in the front center of her neck; she kept pressing it throughout our conversation. I wanted to ask her why, but figured that it might come across as more rude than anything.

Asking questions.

The thought of it reminded me of those pesky, annoying classmates back in school that simply needed to know everything immediately because they wanted to be the smartest people on the earth...

Ha. Maybe the smartest, but not the wisest.

So I needed to not be an inquirer, not ask questions. To me it felt like I hadn't had a real conversation with a stranger in forever, so... I just needed to talk.

I needed to try something new, where I could have a conversation comfortably with a stranger.

Sometimes it amazed me how trusting people are when the world around us is actually pretty shady and risky. Maybe that's another attribute humans have.

Trust.

Trusting even with all the secrets this world was keeping.

In that moment, I was a person.

A human being.

A nice girl, just taking a short walk around the block because she needed some time off from her chaotic home life.

It was nice.

Just me, the trees, my music.

I had never done that before; never walked by myself for a quarter of a mile before.

I liked that community. It had a sense, an aura if you will, of safety and security.

Our conversation continued, until I decided that it was probably best for me to head home.

"You're a sweet girl. Don't ever try and change yourself. Someone once told me that the best thing you can do for the rest of society is to be yourself."

Grant was watching TV when I got back, flipping through channels. "Nice walk?" he asked, and I nodded, settling myself down next to him. He wrapped an arm around me and I sighed. "I met the nicest woman..."

She died only a few months later.

And yet, the short time I had spent with her and known her had been one of the most valuable times of my life.

..

I went to her house after she died to find that there were new people moving in, a family of three with a daughter.

"Hi, I'm Cammie. Morgan," I said, introducing myself to the mom. Her daughter was hiding behind her, cheek pressed against her mom's back and arms wrapped around her mom's torso.

"Nice to meet you, Cammie. I'm Karen Waiff, this is Ava. Ava, do you want to say hi to Cammie?"

The little girl peeked out briefly from behind her mom. "Hi," she murmured before scurrying back to hide.

..

Ava grew up, as did I. We became friends, apart in age by ten years. She came to me whenever she wanted or needed advice, and I gave it to her as best I could. She became part of our family, and Grant treated her like a little sister- When she was younger, it was always either him or me babysitting her.

..

Maybe losing that woman who told me to be myself was a possible good thing. I made a friend, she made a friend, and we were going to stay friends and help each other.

Ava became my younger sibling, not by blood but by simply caring for each other.

It was nice.

..

This chapter: Strangers.

Next chapter: Stereotypes.