Your bracelet is coming apart, he said. It's not a bracelet, I replied, it's just a thread. Just a thread? he asked. Well, a special thread, I got it on my last trip. I don't have the heart to take it off. He took a piece of the apple I was cutting up and popped it into his mouth. Why? Cause it reminds you of warm days and nights and crazy markets and auto-rickshaws? I threw the remains of the apple core in the garbage. No... I paused. Well, yes it does remind me of that. But something more, too. It reminds me of all that I am capable of. I negotiated and navigated my way around. I was brave enough to speak up and make myself heard. I was confronted with extreme conditions and I proved myself capable. To whom? he asked watching me closely. To myself, I answered. I proved myself capable to myself. I took a bite of apple. He reached across the counter and took my wrist in his hand. I've always known, he said and he kissed my wrist and the thread together.