I’m standing

at the checkout line

in Coles, staring at my muddy boots

and wondering

if we’ll ever recover

our ailing sense of wonder

in an environment like this -

when the girl behind the counter asks me brightly

if I’m having a ‘nice day’?

.

I tell her I’ve just been

to a funeral

and notice - it was not

the response she was hoping for.

.

She starts scanning my oranges, mints, chocolate and tomatoes

with a clipped, purposeful air,

avoiding my gaze or presence.

.

“It’s OK”, I say.

“They had a good life,

a good death - at home

near loved ones -

and that’s all anyone can hope for”.

.

“Oh” - she says

and leans in close.

She’s young.

No more than 20-21.

“I’ve been listening to this podcast”, she says

about death and dying and did you know…?” she singsong asks,

“that in India,

they burn their dead people in the streets?”

.

It’s a mic-drop moment for her

so she pauses.

.

“Yes” I answer.

“I’ve seen it:

Colourful, beautiful,

luminous death pyres on the Ganges”.

.

I’m almost crying describing the scene to her

and her grey eyes widen - as she gets the full measure of me -

inhales, and takes the risk:

“I believe in reincarnation” she whispers quickly.

.

It’s a confession

to a stranger

and I love her for it.

.

Instantly she is sister, mother,

the Buddha, an angel,

and all the bodhisattvas rolled into one.

We are meeting -

in that mysterious timezone continuum - between

forever and never.

.

We’re standing on a mountain-top

sitting by the riverbank

loose amongst the stars

and wild beneath the trees

sidestepping our identities

collapsing time and space

when she says:

“That will be $283.50, please - even”.

.

I blink my way back,

rummage for my notes,

and fish out the coins because

as we all know by now - Cash is King -

and this young woman - my uncrowned Queen.

.

I float out of the supermarket -

grief still blooming wildly in my heart,

but I’m satisfied -

Wonder has ambushed me again.

.

Not lost, nor ailing, but ever-present.

Hiding in plain sight -

this time,

under life’s fluorescent light.

.

©Liat Lev

August 2025

.

Original Artwork : 'Making a Wish' - by Moish Sokal, (my dad). https://moishsokal.co.uk/