A 20-Year Loan

On Feb 7, 2019, I received an email from an old family friend.

The subject of the email said "A 20-Year Loan".

I didn't communicate with this old family friend much, so receiving an email from her with a subject such as "A 20-Year Loan" made me suspicious.

My spam radar was flashing "Spam alert", "Spam alert".

I didn't open the email.

A few days later, she messaged me on Facebook Messenger.

She wanted to know if I had received her email.

So now knowing it wasn’t spam, I opened the email, curious to find out what the “20-Year Loan” was about.

I was astonished by what I read.

It wasn't about money.

I won't tell you what it was about.

I have permission from Christine (our old family friend's name is Christine) to share the email with you. I will also share the emails we exchanged after.

You will see why there was a transcendental and miraculous quality to the whole experience. The coincidence harked back to my Connected Minds experience and the genesis of my 3 Benches story.

Feb 7, 2019

Subject: A 20-Year Loan

Hello Minoo,

How are you? Still savoring the rich experiences you had on your recent trip to India? I read about it on your blog, which I read often. You write beautifully and know how to hold your readers' attention. It must have been precious for you and Christine to have one-on-one time with each other. Being back home in California must have its own pleasures too. 

How is Tanita? I met her as a little girl. By now she must be in her mid- to late twenties, right? What is she up to these days? 

At the moment, I'm working on a project to convert a small office/study in our house into a sewing space. That means clearing out bookshelves, among other things. Guess what I found while doing that? A book I borrowed from you in August 1999! It's called "Snakes and Ladders: Glimpses of Modern India" by Gita Mehta. It's  a hardcover and Mira Prabhu's name is on the side of the book. I know for sure that I borrowed it from you. Perhaps Mira gave it to you or loaned it to you. 

First of all, I would like to apologize for not returning the book to you in a timely fashion, Minoo. Any excuse I can offer is pretty lame, so I won't go down that road. However, I would like to make things right by returning the book to either you or Mira, as you see fit. If I were to mail the book I have, it would cost a bomb. However, if it is acceptable to you, I will order a copy from Amazon to be delivered to you, or if you prefer, to Mira. Please let me know to whom you would like me to send the book and the relevant address.

Thanks for lending me the book, Minoo; it was an excellent read. When I opened the book a few minutes ago, a transfer from the SF Municipal Railway fell out. It is dated August 29, 1999. 

Bye for now. Take care,

Christine

February 11, 2019

Subject: Re: A 20-Year Loan

Hello back to you Christine,

I read your email with amazement.  I pride myself on remembering anything people do not return to me.  In fact, I wish my memory was not so good when it comes to loaning people stuff.

But I have absolutely no recollection of loaning you this book.  In fact, I have absolutely no recollection of reading this book either. Maybe I did read it.

But I do recollect that Mira Prabhu visited us in the Bay Area around the same time you did.  Did you perhaps meet her at my place and did she loan you the book?

If you remember listening to a gal play the guitar at my studio apartment in San Jose, that would have been her.

Mira was a vibrant soul and had many things in common with you at the time - both of you had done silent retreats for one thing.

Some sad news about Mira.

She passed away of ovarian cancer just a little over a month ago.  Until she died, she was extremely active on Facebook, regularly posting on spiritual and other matters from her home in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu.

When we were in our 20s, she and I used to play Scrabble together and I voiced a fantasy to her that in old age, we should live down the road from each other, so we could go to each other's houses for tea and Scrabble.

Alas, now that can never be.

Please keep the book Christine.

Even if you returned it to me, I would probably just donate it to the library.

I do read a lot, but I borrow books from the library, and have recently started downloading books on Kindle. Owning books was never my thing.

However, it is extremely sweet of you to let me know you had the book, just in case I wanted it back.

I might publish your email on my blog with my response to it...in memory of Mira Prabhu.

What do you think?

Feb 12, 2019

Subject: Re Re A 20-Year Loan

Oh, Minoo, I am so sorry to hear that Mira has died. I met her at your place in San Jose in 1999 and remember her very well. An articulate, dynamic and independent-thinking person. She was your friend, so her death no doubt leaves a void in your heart. My condolences on your loss. I love the image of you two as old ladies playing Scrabble, drinking tea and exploring ideas. Perhaps in another life, if there is one.

I know for sure that I borrowed the book from you. Perhaps Mira, having read it and found it good, suggested you read it and left it with you, then I borrowed it soon after, before you had an opportunity to read it. Well, whatever the actual case may be, I find it a bit goose-bump inducing that this connection over her book is happening so close to Mira's passing. May she rest in peace.

I checked Mira's Facebook page and read many of the comments left once news of her illness was published. She was well loved and respected. I watched a recent video of an interview with her in which she ends by saying what would constitute a good death for her. Touching.

Sure Minoo, go ahead and publish my e-mail in your blog if you like. RIP Mira.

Hugs,

xo Christine

This post is dedicated to Mira Prabhu. Though we last met in 1999, she made an indelible impression on my life. The Scrabble fantasy was intact when she passed away on Jan 6, 2019 - and is a testimony to the strong shared bond we had. Thanks to Christine for allowing me to publish this exchange of letters about "The 20-Year Loan" on my blog.  It gave me a precious and wonderful way to honor the memory of the vibrant, unforgettable Mira Prabhu.

Readers - you can get to know Mira Prabhu by checking out her Amazon page, where you will find all 4 of her published books, as well as all kinds of rich content - blog posts, interviews etc.  Mira was taken away from us, but not before she left a rich and wonderful legacy of spiritual and intellectual content.

Photo by Alif Caesar Rizqi Pratama on Unsplash