Kindness of Strangers

Caught out after dark in a strange place, I started becoming disorientated

Imran Ahmed, now retired, lives in Islamabad, Pakistan, with his wife and daughter. He enjoys nature walks, crosswords, scrabble and reading and is learning Spanish online.

IN AUGUST LAST YEAR, MY WIFE AND I were visiting her sister and brother-in-law in Princeton Junction, New Jersey. They have a lovely home in the beautiful environs of West Windsor township. Being a regular walker, I enjoyed walking a circular route starting from their house. One evening I decided to be adventurous and deviated from my regular route – I was looking forward to a longer walk, confident that I would be able to find my way back.

My walk took me beyond the residential area and into a beautiful rural setting with an expanse of fields on both sides of the road. With the sun now beginning to set, it was a marvellous sight. After about 15 minutes I noticed that I was not heading back in the direction I had come – in fact I seemed to be moving further away.

No problem, I thought, as I fished around in my pocket for my mobile phone to call home and get help, but it wasn’t there. I had left it at home.

However, I remained calm. Although there weren’t any people about, there was some traffic and I was sure that someone would eventually stop and point me in the right direction. As each car or truck approached, I stopped and