This gentleman and I were looking for shells on this empty beach on the grey day. We were walking in opposite directions. We said hello and spoke briefly on how the stormy weather had left so many shells ashore. We then went on our way. A bit later, I found that he turned and came to find me because he had found an unusual one. He wanted me - a complete stranger - to have it because it was perfect and unbroken. We then went on to talk some. He was seventy years old and from a city about an hour away. He had been healthy all his life but had a recent severe illness which altered his life. He was taking this weekend to be here and gather shells for his garden back home.
I brought home the one he found me. It now sits in a clear vase where I see it every day - a memory of a perfect moment of kindness and gentleness between two strangers.
