Member-only story
I Am Like A Drop Of Water
A dispatch from the shared world.
I to the world am like a drop of water
That in the ocean seeks another drop,
Who, falling there to find his fellow forth,
Unseen, inquisitive, confounds himself…― William Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors
My dog always hears it before I do — the monster slowly clip-clopping up the road. She rockets off the couch, barking the bark of a much bigger, much braver dog.
Sometimes when I hear the horse coming, I tear across the house too. I need to time it just right so I can get to the end of my driveway and wave at the passing buggy in a nonchalant yet obviously needful way while gasping from my sprint and trying not to look like a crazy person.
His name is Eli or Isaac or Jacob, Troyer or Miller or Yoder. He speaks heavily accented English, even though he lives only a half-hour away (for me in my gas-powered vehicle— several hours for him and his horse).
I need the metal roof on my ancient farmhouse recoated, or my retaining wall repaired. Sometimes I ask if he’ll clean my gutters.
I used to do that particular task myself. Like a true pioneer, I’d heave myself…
