"Tell me all your secrets in the next five minutes"

I was so happy to see Ching-In yesterday; our last meeting was well over a year ago. I was amused to imagine us both five years ago, when we met, because we are so much the same, though plenty has changed. Before I left her, she asked for my secrets, and it heartened me to know that I have a friend who can ask for such things. I had none to share. I'm so fully burrowed into one corner of my life that I am not even aware of my own secrets most of the time. After our shared meal, she asked about the state of my heart. I said, "It's closed," and we had our usual conversation about how hers is perpetually open and mine, not so much. She reconfirmed my plan while we talked about New Mexico. I may be a hermit now, but everything flings wide open in May. Until then, I am content to be buried in this manuscript.