As I'm sure most of the people reading my blog already know, I lost my grandmother over the weekend. This, of course, has been very difficult for me, as I've had to deal with my grief without my family by my side. As I was unable to return to Canada for the funeral, it was arranged for me to be able to watch the service over Skype.
The service was scheduled for today (it actually just concluded). I had a meeting in Neuilly-sur-Seine today, but, as it was to be over by 4:30pm, I knew I'd be back in plenty of time. After having coffee with some of the other assistants at a café at the end of our meeting, I made my way back to Gare du Nord to catch my train home. Within 10 minutes of leaving the station, my train, along a few others, stopped without having reached a station. Due to a problem with the tracks' signals, our trains were unable to move for an hour. Upon reaching the first station, we sat at the platform for another half-hour. The train continued to go extraordinarily slow as we continued on for the next few stations. Of course, time was rolling on (over 2 hours into what should've been a 45-minute ride) and I began to get worried that I wouldn't make it home in time for the service.
A lovely woman sitting across from me could see how upset I was getting, and asked me where I was going. I told her and also told her about how I had to change trains at one station and said that I needed to get back to L'Isle-Adam by a certain time. As we neared her station, she and her sister offered to drive me back to my house. I was hesitant, what with them being strangers, but as I told them why I needed to be home, they insisted, so I accepted.
Those two wonderful women got me home in time to say goodbye to my grandma, because I'm sure that staying on the train would've made me miss the service. I don't know their names, where they live or how to contact them, but I will be eternally grateful for what they did for me today. I will never forget their kindness.
Merci, mes anges.
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