A Stranger in the Shire.

On several occasions now I’ve seen a young woman, probably late teens or early twenties, walking north along Mill Lane and turning left into Meadow Lane. She doesn’t appear to be out for a recreational walk because I’ve sometimes seen her carrying things as though she’s walking from one specific place to another. And I always say ‘hello’, but all I’ve ever had in return is the smallest of smiles. (Thinks: probably either introverted or shy, but not an INFJ.)

So who is she? After sixteen years of living here I’m familiar with most of the people who live in the Shire, but this woman is a mystery. Where does she come from; where does she go? Is she a figment of my overwrought imagination? (Recluses are much given to imagination.) Is she a projection of my psychic faculty? Is she a ghost? Does she cross from one alternate reality into this one and back again just because she can?

Maybe I’ll accost her one day and ask the direct question, or maybe I won’t because I’m rather fond of mysteries. In any event it’s of little consequence because she’s never accompanied by a dog.