The Box Dropped and the Glass Broke

(Author’s name withheld by request)

It was the evening after Christmas Day in 2020 in Ajijic. I drove to the town square for dinner. Once there, I settled into an outdoor patio. The square was busy with many families and kids riding around on new Christmas bicycles. The waiter said the kitchen was closed but I could order food from a sidewalk food stand, which I did.

Just as my hamburger and hotdog arrived, so too did a local who said he was Samuel (not his real name). He told me he needed money and was hungry. Given I was by myself, I invited him to sit down and in the spirit of Christmas, when my food arrived, I opened the foil wrapping and offered him his choice. He chose the hamburger.

During our chat, he mentioned he was married and had two children. When he asked for money, given it was Christmas, I believed that his need was to serve his family well-being at this costly time of the year.

At one point, a server approached and asked if Samuel was bothering me. I told him that everything was fine. However, as he ate, he tended to aggressively eat the burger in a manner I thought was unusual.

After twenty minutes, I told him I had to leave so I left him sitting at the table with the drink I had bought for him. I walked to the Nativity Scene in the gazebo and wandered to where the Three Wise Men were positioned. As I did so, I wondered if the staff had allowed Samuel to remain, so I sat on a park bench in front of the three shepherds to occasionally glance back at the restaurant patio.

Then it happened. When I looked back the third or fourth time, I was dismayed to see the gold box that the shepherd was holding suddenly drop to the ground. It was six feet away from me and no one was around it. My interest then shifted from Samuel to that Wise Man, so I snapped photos.

Unbeknownst to me, Samuel had left the patio and approached me. He was unaware of what had just happened. He requested that I follow him. When I didn’t heed his comment, he repeated it. I concluded that he wanted to lead me to his home to show me how needy his family was.

Reluctantly, I followed him. The further we got from the town square, the darker it became. This made me feel apprehensive, so I paused. Samuel saw me stop, so he walked back, put his arm around my shoulder, and again proclaimed that I should come with him. So, I continued.

Anxiety again crept in, so I paused as he continued walking. When I stopped, the silence was suddenly shattered by the sound of breaking glass, a noise that disheveled me. Thus, as Samuel walked further away, I yelled out that I had go, I bid him farewell and walked away in the opposite direction.

The next day, out of curiosity, I returned to the same area to view the Wise Men and find the source of the broken glass, an effort that proved unsuccessful.

While walking to my car, I ran into a local police officer who I knew. We paused to chat, and I told him the story about the previous evening, and I showed him a photo. He immediately identified Samuel by name and said that his behaviour often posed a threat to others. Another officer standing nearby overheard our conversation and pulled out his phone to show me a photo. It was of Samuel. He then said that Samuel had been arrested early that morning for assaulting a female shopper. The officer added that Samuel had a knife in his pocket and then told me I was lucky I chose to walk away as I did.

I do believe in Destiny, and I believe that the gold box falling and the breaking glass were warnings that affected my well-being. Since that incident, whenever I feel a need to be prayerful, I often begin by declaring, “The box dropped, and the glass broke.” This incident provides an example as to why Ajijic has been proclaimed an enchanted village.