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On a gloomy day in London, he was the one to bring a smile on my face. As I hopped on a tour bus to explore the city alone after an argument with a family member, a dull, blank look came all over my face. I got down at a stop and started walking to snap out of it when suddenly I heard a voice. With a wide smile on his face and his hand waving at me, he asked: “how are you?” With a little hesitation, I responded “I’m doing well, thank you” to which he said “then why the long face? You’re not liking our city?” “So, tell me where all did you travel today? Did you do something interesting?” He tried to indulge me in a conversation to make me feel better and it worked. Maybe, sometimes all you need is a conversation with a stranger to make you feel better again. The next day, as I was about to board my tour bus from the same stop, I heard his voice. An enthusiastic and comforting voice. He asked me if I was feeling any better? As I began to answer him, I started shivering a little due to standing next to the River Thames on a cool, breezy afternoon in October. He offered me to come for coffee in the café right next to us so I could feel a little warm. I hesitated, but he insisted. As we ordered our americanos, he told me about his first time in this big, bold city. He left his home back in Israel to make this city his new home. His stories from his childhood were astonishing and took me back to my childhood. The way he told me about the Jewish culture and how wars took a toll on the lives of people living there, it opened my world to newer perspectives. But he never lost his positivity and optimism. On the day, I had to leave this beautiful city behind and go back; I took a bus to the train station to reach the airport. As I passed by the London Eye, I saw him helping other tourists around and doing an incredible job of being a tour bus guide. I couldn’t get down from the bus as I was running a bit late but a glance of him through the window of the bus was enough for me to say goodbye. Who knows where he will be now? But at least for 2 days, he was my companion who showed me his world in his new ‘home’.