Comme même

Travelling on the train with my Chins always was a good conversation opener, such as what race, how old, names, etc. Now I’ve found a new opener that requires far less care on a ride than keeping dogs calm so as not to disturb others. Knitting. With four hours on a train to and from Bern, I thought this would be an excellent time to finish a sweater. People asked what I was making, for whom, etc. The questions came from men as well as women, but the nicest was a woman maybe a little younger than I am who came up and patted her blue and yellow plastic bag.

“I just bought yarn,” she said. She pulled out a skein of golden dust. “8 CHF, half price.”

My eyes widened.

She then showed me the maroon alpaca wool and explained how the gold would be used as a highlight. We talked about the relaxation of needlework. Her stop was Lausanne and she got up to leave.

“Thank you for sharing,” with me I said. Until then we’d been speaking French.

“Comme même,” she said. The same. And then in English, “You’re welcome.”

And does it really matter what is the trigger that causes one human to speak with another, to share a moment no matter how simple? The result is the same.