Free Spirits

The moment I knew Bob and I were destined to be together came, one unforgettable day, when he jumped on the bus to travel with me into London.

I had been flabbergasted. I’d shooed him away after he’d followed me to the bus stop from my flat and, as the bus had pulled away, had assumed he’d been left behind on the pavement. But suddenly, there he was, sitting on the seat next to me, curled up next to my guitar case as if he too was part of my luggage.

The bus conductor had smiled at me and asked me whether he was mine.

‘I guess he must be,’ I’d replied at the time, but I’d quickly come to realise that wasn’t quite the case.

Bob is a force of nature, a free spirit. He wasn’t mine. He wasn’t a possession. I didn’t own him then, nor do I own him now. We’ve chosen to be together in the present. But who knows whether we will be in the future? He will always be my friend, but he’s free to leave whenever he wants.

I think that freedom is a key to any true friendship.