I was eating an apple in the shade of an orange tree sitting on a beautiful tile bench in the garden of the royal palace or The Alcázar in Seville. I had just made my way out of the hedge maze and decided to enjoy the garden from a sitting position. So I chose a rather secluded corner of the garden next to a small water fountain and sentineled with orange trees, got comfortable on a little stone bench, and pulled an apple out of my backpack.
A few bites in an older gentleman appeared on the path and started to walk towards my little orange tree. He had a fancy DSLR camera around his neck and was fondling it as he gazed ahead expectantly. Shuffling up to my little fountain and cool shade, he paused, looked ahead one last time with a disappointed and confused expression and turned to sit on my bench. I watched this all unfold from over my apple. As he sat down and and let loose an involuntary sigh I said, “hola”. He was in my domain now, I had to acknowledge him or consign myself to an awkward silent coexistence as I ate my fruit. He lifted his eyes to mine and replied with a hasty, “hola”. We then sat there listening to the trickling water, the wind dancing through the orange trees, and to me… chewing.