The fine line between a Stranger and a Friend

I have forgotten how much I enjoy making friends. Today I'm reminded that the line between a "stranger" and a "friend" is very fine. And it doesn't take much from us at all. Just a simple hello ~ or a Yakult.

That's how I made a new friend today. 

I was shopping at Holland Village on my day off. I bought some dresses from a shop. As I was making my payment, the shop owner said, "I'm Dorothy." I said, "I'm Pam." And just like that, a friendship was born. 

As I was walking home after dinner with my parents, I heard someone call out from behind, "Pam!" I spun round and there was Dorothy, bounding out of 7-Eleven with a pack of Yakult.

"I wanted to buy one, but they only sell it in a pack," she said, as she twisted one from the pack and handed it to me. I took the Yakult from her, and we strolled back to her shop together. 

Dorothy's (shop) neighbour joined us as he was having his dinner. Her colleague Ying Ying as well. And there we were - all four of us - chatting & laughing around the table like we'd known each other for years. 

In the midst of conversation, it struck me how often I've walked past that row of shops, never pausing to think that there's a little "community" of business owners here. Each with a story. Each with a passion, pursued. Each, a person.  

I left there over an hour later with a spring in my step. A little confused. A little amused. But greatly inspired by the simplicity of how a friendship can begin ~ with anyone. 

And just like that, today turned out to be a day out of the ordinary for me. Because I'm reminded that there are absolutely no limits to whom I choose to extend a bridge of friendship to.