Recording to me

Previously

…I met Laura today. She is not Dulcinea. She is not an ideal. She is a woman who likes hiking and struggles with her own loops. And I liked her. Not because she matched a pattern, but because she was different. The program is still running. The base case is still acceptance. But the recursion has taken a new branch. I wonder where it will lead." I saved the recording and set the phone aside. Outside, the streetlights flickered on, casting their orange glow. I thought about the next meeting, the next conversation, the next step in this unfolding algorithm. For the first time in a long time, I was not trying to optimize the outcome. I was simply curious to see what would happen next.