Infinity Plus One.

Most mornings I walk through a couple of parks and some woods to get to the sea.

The rain in summer comes at you like children's water pistols, non threatening and benign.

I pass many dog walkers in the early light of the day.

Most have ear buds installed and avoid eye contact. There are no rules.

Everyone does what they want.

One morning an all white Pomeranian ran at me out of friendliness. I laughed and told the owner that he was like a snowball. On closer inspection I could see light brown shading on his ears like at the edge of Cappuccino foam. A gentle soul, he seemed to be laughing as I stroked his head.

I filled my water bottle at the oasis and walked through the gentle spray of the rain.

I wondered if he was going to be there on the beach today.

This man in his seventies with a beard and red daypack.

Was it Richard?

I had once lived at the beach on Lanzarote.

I had met Richard at the soup kitchen there. He was always looking for new books in English to read. I gave him a couple from my bag and he invited me to his cave where he had lived for five years. He taught me how to live on the island without money. Dumpster diving. Where to find pallets for fire wood. Fresh water. Clothes. Even outdoor showers on the beach. In return I defended him and his cats from the not so friendly neighbours camping nearby. Once he came to my bivouac that was cloaked in black linen. The kind you can buy at garden centres. He looked on the verge of tears. I invited him into my black stealth bomber that had crash landed amongst the rocks and he told me that this drunk street guy from Russia had been throwing stones at his cats. I nodded my head and told him that I'd have a word with him. At the mouth of Richard's cave were animal bones, fishing gear, tools, weather beaten paperbacks, multi coloured clothing and destroyed pallets that would fuel his fire pit for cooking. There was some order to the madness. For example there wasn't any litter. He fastidiously put that in the bin daily. What I'm getting at is Richard was the local shamen and I for one had asked his permission before making my house nearby. Not everyone saw it that way however. I had a word with the Russian stone thrower and he promised me that he would stop tormenting Richards cats. The shamen seemed happy. A peaceful calm descended on the coast.

We lived in an around the blue infinity of the sea.

I spent a good three hours a day swimming and beach combing.

So back to reality.

Was this Richard lookalike here to find me or deliver some message five years later. A sign from the Universe.

As I got to the path where I climb down to the sea he was stood right there!

I wanted to speak to him today and then I saw the ball thrower for a dog in his hand.

Richard was exclusively about cats. It wasn't him.

He certainly looked like his doppelganger though. His twin.

I started to explain my theory to this man walking his dog, as the rain sprayed our faces. I kept out the weird stuff about the cosmos sending him to me as some kind of messager. I just said that he looked like someone that I used to know on Lanzarote. He smiled at me and flicked the ball down the beach for his dog. I stripped off my clothes and stretched on the sand. The rain embraced me in its ethereal cloak. The man looked me in the eyes warily with a slight smile as I waded in to the surf all brown with churned up weed and sand. Diving into the soup of the sea I felt the aliveness of nature stretching before me.