A bag of apricot stones

A story of hope and friendship -- between two women from two different countries -- who have never met, and who know very little about one another

We had planned a trip to Armenia and Georgia last autumn but had to cancel at the last minute because of Stephan's illness. We had also booked a long sightseeing trip there. Our travel agent in Yerevan was a woman named Liana, who had taken great pains to cater to our every wish while drawing up the sightseeing plans. When she heard the news of the cancellation, her first reaction was hope your husband gets well soon. Without our asking she made the company return the entire advance we had paid to book the trip. 

But that was not all -- every now and then she would ask after Stephan. 

As time went on, we got busy with the rest of our lives... a brief exchange over Christmas also made her ask me -- is it possible for you to get apricot stones in Germany? I was not sure.  She wanted to send some for Stephan through someone who was travelling to Germany. It did not happen. 

She wrote to me in February to say that she felt terribly ashamed and bad that she did not send the stones as promised. I told her she should not worry so much. It was okay. Moreover she had never promised. 

Well, I came back from India in March to find a packet from Yerevan waiting for me -- it had arrived by post and it was full of apricot stones! Inside a message from Liana: These are good for your husband, wash them and let him eat them, as many as he wishes. They will do him a lot of good. I have sent them for him with plenty of good energy and with a lot of faith and belief that they will help him get better...

What can one say  but thank you! Regardless of how things turn out with Stephan, Liana, those apricot stones give me hope and strength and make me happy; that packet that arrived for me from Yerevan brought with it the sure knowledge that we are not lost yet, as human beings, and that is hugely comforting, regardless of whether we survive our particular destinies or not...

Meanwhile Stephan is eating those apricot stones and I believe they are helping...