On Christmas Eve, Karaj and I spent a beautiful afternoon touring the Severn Valley. At one point, as we stood in the country park overlooking the river, with the sun falling onto the green grass in the valley, it felt a million miles away from the challenging environment of the house. Our conversation was easy and the silences were peaceful. Karaj is such a gentle man, not at all imposing, and I thoroughly enjoyed his company. He just gets on with his life.
Today, the two of us went to an Indian restaurant for our Christmas lunch. We had the place to ourselves. Undisturbed. On our walk home, the sun shone again and I spoke of how much I have changed over the past three years. In the evening Karaj talked about his life. I made notes, filling in the gaps and bringing some chronology to Karaj’s life. It has been another quiet and gentle day, yet also productive and enriching. The last two days have been an ideal Christmas and have deepened my relationship with Karaj.