“I’ll work for free in your salon, if you teach me everything you know about cutting hair.” said the young man in his best practiced English, his lithe body now as erect as a mature bamboo stalk.

This is how the relationship between student and master began.

Clara T sat there in the now seasoned stylist’s chair watching him execute each cut with a perfect balance of passion and precision. She would never forget his story even though he had no idea that she was privy to it. He was a modern day hero – foolish, hungry and in charge.

The tiles were exquisitely placed as inlayed patterns within the Egyptian latticework window bed in which he had slept. A Mashrabiya is what his Uncle built right inside the eccentric house in Kensington.

Henry’s eyes scanned the familiar room and a wave of comfort washed over his exhausted bones. The astronomer’s sextant across the room, in particular, reminded him of his childhood friend, Nick. They used to ask repeatedly to be allowed to pick it up and handle it, pleading Lord Leighton to offer up the basics of Astro Navigation for the hundredth time.

It didn’t matter that the boys coudn’t quite understand it all. The exotic tool made them feel like they were setting a course for a new adventure. It was simply irresistable to their exploding imaginations.

The sound of his Uncle working downstairs in the studio brought Henry back into the moment – the present. And Henry wondered how he could bring himself to tell his Uncle that he was trying his best to outrun sorrow. Although Henry’s conscience was clear, he was afraid of not being able to recover fast enough.

She had that slight vulnerable feeling you get in the cold winter when your hair is still wet and the transition to cozy dryness is still to come. It was in the moment she was clipping her toe nail that she had been thinking of 5 different things at once.

Thoughts all competing for attention, ranging from a Skype call later that day to how losses happen in clusters. The later of which she had to learn from browsing the web and not from another human being which might have been a bit more comforting. It’s the compounding effect of loss clusters that can wreak sheer havoc on a person and cause more destruction than the first loss which triggered the chain of events in the first place.

Her toe would heal, but Clara was beginning to realize that she had to rethink everything.