31. Say goodbye to my lucky coin

Sniff. I went to take a walk in the center yesterday. The weather was nice, not too warm, not too cold, and it was a typical Santiago Sunday. I did my usual little walk from Plaza de Armas through Paseo Ahumada and back to the square through Estado. I can't even begin to describe all the different people I saw around there. It's like entering a movie scene. I love that place so much. I quietly entered the cathedral since there was a mass going on, but it wasn't very crowded. Some art group performed at the square, first a violinist, then an opera singer. I'm not into classical music, but it made the environment all that much nicer. Oh, it was a beautiful afternoon. One of those that I'll miss so much when I go back, which is very soon.

And then I saw the fountain and remembered my point 31 on the list. And I remembered that I had thought this to be the perfect place to leave my lucky coin behind. Mind you, it's just a regular one dollar cent coin. A small, brown one, a little polished over time. I took it home from California somewhere in 1999, maybe 1998, and it has been with me ever since. Mostly in my left pocket. Almost every day. I lost or dropped it many times over, but always quickly found it again. I thought it would leave me when I no longer needed it, but it stuck around for the whole eight years, maybe even a little longer. So I had made the decision to get rid of it myself. My happiness isn't bound to a one cent coin, and neither are my memories. It was just a symbol, one of many. (I still have my cross that I wear every day. Couldn't even consider dumping it.)

I got a little nervous. Stood listening to the opera singer for a while and rubbed the coin like never before. Then, I made a wish and tipped it into the fountain. Home is where the heart is. I sat down for a while and looked at the square, the fountain, the kids, the doves, the women... and I actually felt a little sad about the coin. I thought of all the countries it had been to with me. I remembered how it had been there when I found love and lost it again, many times over. But the experiences and memories are in my head and heart. It's just a one cent coin. It has a new home now. I can't believe I'm crying while I'm writing this. Am I a childish sentimental sock, or what?

Goodbye, lucky coin. May you bless somebody else's heart, who needs you more.