The Wisdom in the Nails
I sat outside the office, nerves twisted into knots, chewing at my fingernail like it held the answer to all my problems. Pacing. Sitting. Sighing. I was a full-blown anxiety opera with no interval.
I plopped down again, staring blankly…until I noticed him.
An elderly man sat across from me, dressed like a retired statesman… in loosely worn suit.... Silver beard, square spectacles, and an unnervingly calm gaze fixed on me. A faint smile tugged at his lips like he’d seen this scene before.
I stared back, half-curious, half-suspicious.
Then, without a word, he raised both hands slowly, palms inward, showing me all ten fingers…..each one crowned with a nail chewed down to the quick.
“There’s no solution here,” he said softly, in a voice that could lull storms to sleep.
I stared at his war-torn cuticles. And just like that, the tension cracked. I burst into a laugh…sharp, sudden, cleansing.
He chuckled too, like a monk who knew all the secrets of life… including the taste of nails.
And for a moment, the office, the worry, the waiting……vanished into that quiet, ridiculous wisdom.
I plopped down again, staring blankly…until I noticed him.
An elderly man sat across from me, dressed like a retired statesman… in loosely worn suit.... Silver beard, square spectacles, and an unnervingly calm gaze fixed on me. A faint smile tugged at his lips like he’d seen this scene before.
I stared back, half-curious, half-suspicious.
Then, without a word, he raised both hands slowly, palms inward, showing me all ten fingers…..each one crowned with a nail chewed down to the quick.
“There’s no solution here,” he said softly, in a voice that could lull storms to sleep.
I stared at his war-torn cuticles. And just like that, the tension cracked. I burst into a laugh…sharp, sudden, cleansing.
He chuckled too, like a monk who knew all the secrets of life… including the taste of nails.
And for a moment, the office, the worry, the waiting……vanished into that quiet, ridiculous wisdom.
