Ayako Comes To Delhi

Delhi, India, January 7, 2007

This story is from my recent Journey in India

We're walking down the narrow street of the Tibetan settlement when we suddenly spot a young Japanese woman, huddled in a blanket, looking from side to side at the store windows around her. I shout "Ayako san!". Her head comes up and we see a beaming smile on her face. Finally we meet again. Some people really know how to get around. I first met Ayako san in Thailand. Then she visited me in Canada. So when I told Ayako I was coming to India she said 'okay Stevie, I go too'. She was in Bangkok and met Aw. Then she flew to Sri Lanka, on to Delhi, up to Nepal and back here to meet with us. Ayako looks pretty good for a woman who has just spent the last seventy-two hours sick as a dog from food poisoning in Varanasi. We go to a Tibetan restaurant and order a celebration dinner. It's a surreal experience for me to have two of my favorite people in the World, from two different countries (Thailand and Japan) in the same place at the same time. I think of Ayako as a daughter and since Aw is my girlfriend, we all laugh as we discussed whether Ayako should call her 'mom'. It's all I can do to keep up with the accents of the two languages. We have a great meal and even meet up with Joanmarie. Now as we eat our feast, we make a plan to fulfill our common dream to see the Taj Mahal.