What a beautiful balmy day for a drive it was. The sun was so hypnotising, I could barely remember getting into the car! There I was on the motorway driving at quite a speed, when suddenly 'tinkle!' - a sound like coins in a wine glass woke me from my autopilot.
Today the road seemed quiet. In fact very quiet. Despite it being about 3.30pm there was no-one else around on the road at that time. I therefore took the decision to pull over and see whether my car had been damaged somehow.
Feeling both annoyance that my car may have been damaged, and guilt at stopping on the hard shoulder. I checked all around for someone else about or another car that might catch me out or worse crash into me. In fact there was no-one and nobody and no other cars.
As I got out of the vehicle I was aware of a strange whistling sound. It was not like a breeze through a window pane, more like a low flying plane was above. I glanced up expectantly at a cloudless sky. The blue was intense and I felt quite uplifted. However I could see nothing at all that would account for the sound.
Returning to my car, I was dismayed to find a rather large chip dead centre in the windscreen. Surely this was a chip in excess of 25mm! I would need to get a whole new windscreen from a man in a van, sigh.
Growling to myself and scratching my itchy skin, I suddenly was aware of someone behind me. Swivelling abruptly in fear, I saw a figure standing about a metre away.
In an instant I examined his face and expression and within that instant I dismissed any concern regarding being harmed and/or arrested by him.
A strange, er, whatever it was, appeared to be invisibly oozing from his skin, or his head, or was it the balmy sunlight playing tricks on me? Surprise and something close to a feeling of awe, prevented me from speaking. I stood rudely staring and he looked back at me.
At last after rather a long protracted silence from us both, I felt that I should do something and became acutely embarrassed and awkward.
'Hi', I at last offered, attempting to pull myself together and rationalise.
'Hello Sharon' he said with a really stunning smile, and I was floored.
In a sort of gasp and struggling to place the 'adult' me in front of the 'child' me, I attempted to ask how he knew my name. Before I could finish this question, he replied.
'It's written on your necklace'
A smart of discomfort made me blurt out, 'Ha, for a minute there I thought you were Jesus Christ come to visit me today on this deserted motorway, hahahahaha'
How ridiculous I sounded, but this man did not laugh or smile at my forced jollity.
I shut up promptly and wondered whether to remain or run.
'I have something for you' he said mysteriously 'It's very valuable'
I looked with as much confidence as I could muster into his eyes to check perhaps on his degree of sanity, or for any point of reference that may explain what was going on. As he looked back with a sweet amusement and another expression I could not read at all, he started to explain.
'I did throw it to you but it landed on your car and is in real danger of being lost on the tarmac now.'
Walking into the still empty road he picked up a stone of some sort, and brought it over.
' I wanted you to stop and have this'
He held it out on his hand open palmed, as some birds started to sing beautifully nearby. Blimey, it's like the Carpenters song I thought to myself.
He smiled broadly and warmly, as if I was the most fantastic person that he had ever met. Instantly I was very much at ease.
At last I was able to say 'Is it a diamond?'
'No', he replied, 'Something more valuable. You are the only person who has one. Can you take it and use it for anything?'
'I've no idea really. Who are you and why are you giving me something valuable?'
'It is as valuable as you are. I must give this to you so that everyone can have it'
He waited for any further nonsense to escape from my lips, but feeling a lot calmer and happier and quite joyful really I was content to stand and wait for any further information he wanted to offer.
'I regret that you do not know me, but it is not your fault'
Blimey, I thought again, this guy could be Jesus really after all. He and this situation is like a dream state.
'Now we have met like this, I hope you will remember me' he said 'but tell no-one of what has happened today'
Yeah right, I thought to myself. I shan't tell anyone, but I could post it on my blog. Hardly anyone reads that anyway.
Lost in a train of thought I must have glanced away because as suddenly as he was there, he was gone again. I glanced around frantically feeling inexplicably disappointed. He did not tell me his name!
A small box lay on the ground in front of me. I picked it up and inside...
