Breaking Barriers

The woman at the counter resembled my great-grandmother. She was short and stout. She wore a long black dress with a shawl wrapped around her shoulders. She had her gray hair pinned up neatly. She had kindness in her eyes and compassion in her heart. As I tried to converse with this woman we were faced with an obstacle: she spoke no English, I spoke no Italian.

Signora tried with all of her might; hoping that I would magically begin to understand her native tongue. I knew there was no chance in the matter, but I loved the fire in this old woman's soul so I stayed and played her game. She fiercely continued to speak. I assume she was rephrasing and repeating the entire time. My face was contoured with both determination and confusion; I so badly wanted to know what she was saying. But, as Signora finally realized that I would never understand, she grabbed my arm to steady herself beneath the fit of laughter that currently possessed her soul.

This woman, who must have been at least eighty years old, found humor in our dilemma. For an instance I didn't understand, but then suddenly I was brought to the inside of eternity-old joke. Though of the same species, we were two different breeds. Two breeds that wanted nothing more than to understand the sounds and noises that came out of each other’s mouths. And, in this moment, in this fit of laughter, we did understand. We were finally speaking the same language. The yearning she had for my sudden and immediate understanding was finally bestowed.

The conversation went on for a few minutes and without really saying anything, we managed to say so much. Signora wished me happiness and love in this life. She told me to live in the moment and never take no for an answer. I wished her peace and joy. I told her that I saw her wisdom and success in a life well lived.

And all too soon, we were back to our assumed identities. We were no longer of the same breed. Yet as I turned to leave she tried again. After some rattling on in her old Italian dialect, she ended with "Ciao, bella!" I reached the door and turned to reciprocate her farewell, as I was about to say goodbye I saw a smile on her face. And with one final understanding, I smiled back.