May 4 cont...
I could tell the transaction had gone un-noticed because, when we got outside, Kenji San was still showing Yahiro San some Aikido moves my dear friend Brenda would have found inspiring.
I put my sunglasses and hat on then we all walked as slowly as we could the 50 paces to the end of the street where we were to part. Doing my transparent best to postpone having to say goodbye, I asked if I could get a picture of the three of them.
The sadness I was feeling wasn't only that I was saying goodbye forever to two special people that, in a nano second, had been more accepting and generous towards me than some people who had known me all my life, but that, even if I could ask Yahiro San to translate for me, I could never fully express how much that meant to me.
I had been dealing with judgement all my life - from having an 'infamous' father as well as an obsessive compulsive disorder that showed on my skin from a young age. When I was lucky enough to meet people who showed me only acceptance, it was hard for me to let them go because, as I had discovered, they were rare and I never knew when I was going to meet some of their breed again.
Taieriki and Kenji Sans walked over the road to their vehicle and, after waving goodbye to them, Yahiro San and I set off walking in the opposite direction toward temples 8 and 9.
I didn't fully understand why but something that Kenji San had said and done had a very profound effect on Yahiro San and I had a feeling they would see each other again.
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