A Love story.... Part TWO

SECOND PART OF LOVE STORY



As she told me that she had lost her man.... she burst into tears, and her head fell forward on to my shoulder. I put my arms around her shoulders, patted her back in an 'Uncle John' sort of way, and murmured 'there, there, there' as comfortingly as I could manage. After a while she composed herself a little, and went on to tell me that when she had reached the Cathedral two hours later, there was no sign of Rolf. She walked around inside and all around the outside of the Cathedral, and a large part of the medieval city centre...... searching for him for a long time. She met and spoke with some other pilgrims who had also taken the bus. But none of them could help her. And neither could I, as again she crumpled up, utterly disconsolate, and wept and wept, sobbing uncontrolably, with her head buried into my shoulder, ....... and her beautiful long curly blonde hair tickling my nose.....as I was thinking....... "How on earth can I help her to find this man that she has lost....?"

I offered Bettina a paper knapkin, and gently I asked her some more questions. I learnt that this slim and pretty woman is 42 years of age, she looks and sounds very intelligent, and is normally very sensible. But she had panicked in the middle of Burgos city, and in a confused state of mind she had walked on towards the next albergue on the Camino. When she arrived in Tardajos village 9 kms further on, it was beginning to get dark, but there was no Rolf in the albergue. So as night fell she walked on yet 3 more kms in the dark to the next village, Rabé, and went into the albergue there for the night.

Lying in her bunk sleeplessly tossing for hours and thinking and worrying, she convinced herself that Rolf must already be at the NEXT village ..... waiting for her. So before dawn she set off again at a very fast pace, but when she reached Hornillos ..... there was no sign of Rolf there either. Dismayed she hurriedly walked on to the next village, and the next, and the next, and the next. And so on, marching along feeling miserable for many days, and when she reached the spot where I was parked, she had already covered over 180 kms from Burgos, and she was still convinced that her hearts desire was just a little way ahead, and she would catch up with him ..... if only she could keep going at this extraordinary gruelling fast pace every day...... until she would find him.

Eventually I released her shoulders, gave her another paper knapkin, and got up and had a think. Here was a serious situation. And serious situations demand a cup of strong English tea.

So I put the kettle on...!

While we silently sipped our cups of black Indian tea, I thought very carefully about her problem. Then gently ... ever so gently ... I asked her in a whisper ..... if she had considered the possibility that Rolf might actually be BEHIND her...? She stared glumly down at her feet, and just sniffled and ( very ladylike ) blew her nose into the fourth paper knapkin that I had offered her.
She didnt say any more. So I took command.
I told her to finish her tea, while I cleared the decks and put things away, brought her rucksack into the van, closed the side door, slipped into the driving seat, started up the motor ..... and as she sat down in the front passenger seat ...... I engaged gear and let out the clutch and off we drove ...... BACK along the trail, in the opposite direction of the Camino, back towards where she had just come from.

There is a third part to this story.... in PART THREE