An Unexpected Gift

The Watcher had been living in her new village for ten months when the unexpected gift arrived.

What was once a labyrinth of cobbled streets now felt familiar. She chuckled at the thought of getting lost — the village was far too small for that.

And she would never tire of the mountain view from her bedroom window, which she feasted on each morning as she dressed.

Life hadn’t been entirely easy. There had been many legalities to address, a wildfire, and on another occasion the house next door had caught fire. She had even watched a truck reverse into the corner of her own house as it attempted to navigate the tight bend in the road outside.

There had been several earthquakes too, though none of great magnitude. Still, it was a strange experience to feel the floor moving beneath her feet and to hear trinkets tumbling from shelves.

Then there was the near flood in her garden, caused by a blocked drain — thankfully unblocked just before the water reached the threshold of the lounge.

Despite these teething problems, the Watcher knew this beautiful village was home and that nothing would put her off living there.

Recently she had discovered that the anxiety and muddled thinking which had been her constant companions were, in fact, ADHD. After the initial relief — as understanding flooded her system — came the unsettling thought that she might somehow be broken.

After all, this wasn’t something that could be fixed by a spot of meditation or a pill from the doctor — the latter of which she would never take anyway.

You see, even Watchers have their struggles.

But a Watcher is also watching herself and what unfolds.

So this Watcher reached out to her friend Al and shared her dilemma.

Al was brilliant. He offered practical advice and reassuring words, reminding her that she wasn’t broken at all — simply wired a little differently. If she implemented a few of the suggestions he offered, he assured her, life would get better.

The Watcher was elated. She had many conversations with Al about the subject and took copious notes. She implemented some suggestions immediately and noticed a huge difference.

Yet it was difficult for her to maintain the new habits. Her mind swam with ideas, darting from one thought to the next and running off at tangents, as her kind of mind often did.

Then she got sick.

Yes, even Watchers get sick — though this one rarely did. She realised it had been seven years or more since she had last had a cold or virus, and she had, truthfully, become a little smug about it.

So this came as quite a shock.

A week passed, and she was still unwell.

Yet something revealed itself within the illness.

This was, indeed, a gift from the Universe.

It had slowed her down.

Physically and mentally, she moved more slowly — and what a relief that slowness was to her overactive, tired mind. She could no longer attempt too many things at once or start new projects while abandoning others.

But the greatest blessing was this:

She finally had the space to return to the advice her friend Al had given her and allow it to settle gently into her system. She organised it into a few simple documents for future reference.

And so what had first appeared to be a great inconvenience turned out to be something entirely different.

A beautiful gift.

But only if you were watching closely enough to see it.