The (Seemingly) Lost Souls Club

I imagine we all have them – those people we encounter through our everyday lives who, for one reason or another, leave a major impression on us. Their persons, feelings and sometimes hurt seem to stay with us long after the chance meeting has passed.

I’ve collected a few of them over the years. What’s weirdest to me is that these people may not even realize that our small interaction has stayed with me, causing me to wonder about them, worry about them and, in a few cases, scour the internet to see if they’re doing alright. Spoiler alert: it’s never worked. That’s the problem with slight encounters. They don’t afford a lot of time to gather details like last names, employers or the high schools they attended.

I thought I’d share these stories from time to time, and Hailey (or is it Haley? Or Hayley?) is the perfect one to start with. Mr. Deane and I encountered Hailey in September 2019 when we were on a Western-based road trip to celebrate our one-year wedding anniversary.