Near Miss

I spent the next few days feeling very blue and lonely. I couldn't get Claudia out of my mind, the time spent together had been so filled with happiness that I now spent my time changing my dreams to include her. Whatever I did, where-ever I went, I wanted to be alongside her. I hated that she wasn't there with me, that the backpackers unspoken code was that you did not stand in the way of another's travel plans; that there was a time to move on. But we had both been respectful of that.

I made the decision to leave and head back towards Kalgoorlie a few days early. Bag packed and train ticket in pocket, I was walking out the hostel when I paused at the door to let the manager in. "Good luck. Hope we see you again", he said. "Oh by the way you did get the message posted on the board for you at lunchtime, didn't you?" I hadn't. I walked back to the noticeboard and there it was - a message from Claudia !!!! She was getting the bus back to Adelaide that night. I was dumbfounded! She had changed all her plans to spend 30 hours on a bus from Alice Springs to see me again. This truly was the greatest girl in the world. And the good fortune of meeting someone as I left the hostel who not only knew about the message, but also had the courtesy to ask if I had received it! If anyone had doubts about the two of us, this would have to dispel them all. With a soaring heart I went back to our Love Inn and managed to get our previous room. Claudia would be there the next morning and I couldn't wait.