Father, husband and brother³

When I entered into another store, I saw an elderly lady who was about fifty or fifty-five years old. As soon as I opened the door, she came and stood behind me and started patting my back, saying, “You remind me of my father, husband and brother.”

Immediately my heart surrendered to her. I asked her a few questions. She said she was Japanese and that her father, husband and brother had died in the Second World War. Her husband used to work in the post office.

While she was patting me, she said, “You are serene, pure and full of peace, peace, peace, peace.” She said “peace” at least four or five times.

I bought from her store a suitcase with wheels on the bottom. It was nine dollars or something like that, and I gave her a twenty dollar bill. She did not ring it up on the cash register. Instead she took the twenty dollar bill from me and put it inside my bag. So I took it out of the bag and gave it to her again and said, “You have made a mistake.”

At that time her daughter came over. She was very angry and upset and she rang up the sale on the register. The mother then took the exact amount out of her pocket and put it in the register.

The daughter was puzzled.

The mother said, “He reminds me of my father, husband and brother. Of late I am seeing my dear ones quite often.”

What could I say? Inwardly I was telling her, “Perhaps your time has come to join them.” But if I told her outwardly, her daughter would be mad. Since the lady was so nice, I wandered around and got a few more things. The lady said to me, “Had it been my store, I would not have charged you at all. But I am only an employee here.”

Then, when I was leaving the store, she followed me out to the door in such an affectionate way. Tears were visible in her eyes.