A roadside encounter

I met myself when I was walking home the other day. There I was, sitting on a rock on the roadside, chewing a leaf of grass in the sunshine. Since we hadn't seen each other for a while, I decided to stop and chat for a moment. So, I leaned against a lamppost, put my backpack down, and stayed a while.

"So, how has life been?" I asked myself after we had acknowledged each other’s presence with an exchange of nods. "Life? Life has been good", I answered myself and spat out the leaf I was chewing. I grinned widely, and asked myself: "How could it not be? It's in the little things, babies' smiles, changing tyres, watching pretty girls walk by." I smiled back at myself, and said: "Yah, how could it not be indeed", with just a hint of weariness in my voice. I looked at myself, and indeed, I looked good, strong and healthy. And happy.

"And you? How is life? How are the big things?" I asked myself in return. "There is progress. I'm getting somewhere", I answered smiling proudly. "So it's all finally happening then", I observed, "That's good." "It is, isn't it?", I replied, my smile widening into a grin. "Yah", I said with a nod, "Has it been rough?" "Sometimes, just sometimes", I answered a bit more gravely.

"It shows, you know." I noted, and looked at myself. I was thinner, weary, tired. Driven. "I guess it does", I said. "That looks awfully heavy", I said, pointing to my backpack, "Have you been carrying it for long?" "Yeah, pretty long I guess. And it does tend to feel heavy every once in a while", I replied looking at the backpack, now seeming bigger than ever. "Why don't you leave that here, with me?" I suggested myself, "You can pick it up the next time you come this way." "I guess I will, if that's okay with you", I affirmed.

And we bid ourselves farewell, and I resumed my journey homewards with lighter steps. Looking back over my shoulder I saw myself there, going through the contents of my backpack. It didn't seem all that big anymore.