had a great breakfast with family

who returned a file of family history papers

that had traveled on a journey with them

across the seas

 i was happy to see them again

 had the papers in my hand for all of 1 minute

 as i set them down next to me

for safekeeping

they fell into a hidden crack

 just kept going deeper into the abyss

until they were gone

a very kind manager

without judgement

without questions

with a good sense of humor

offered to assist

by moving chairs

pulling the whole table out

taking the booth apart

and retrieving the precious files

intact and none the worse for wear

the family journey continues

with just a short detour.

“cracks especially. you have to be careful of the cracks.

sometimes they are disguised as something else.

a doorway, or a smile or even a winking eye.

and if you fall through them, you never know were you will end up.”

-isabelle carmody – greylands