“The Bench by the River”

Have you ever met someone who changed your life… and then disappeared forever?

I did.

And it all started on a quiet bench by the river.

I used to come here every morning — same spot, same coffee, same silence.

I wasn’t running from anyone… but maybe I was running from myself.

One morning, an old man sat beside me.

He didn’t say hello, didn’t smile — just stared at the water.

For a few minutes, we said nothing.

Then he asked, “What are you afraid of losing?”

I laughed nervously. “Everything, I guess.”

He nodded like he understood a language I didn’t speak.

“You can’t lose what’s already gone,” he said softly.

And somehow… that hit me harder than anything.

For the next few weeks, we met at that same bench.

He’d tell me stories — not advice, not lessons — just small, quiet moments from his past.

The kind that make you think about your own.

Then one morning, he wasn’t there.

No note. No goodbye. Just the river, and the wind.

And sometimes, I wonder…

maybe he wasn’t sent to stay.

Maybe he was sent to remind me to let go.

Have you ever met someone like that?

Someone who appears for a moment… but stays in your story forever?

If you believe some people enter our lives for a reason.......