An Unsolicited Prophecy at the Grocery Store

"Only love will win," the delivery driver tells two grocery-laden customers, then drives away before either can respond.

HERZLIYA  ·  NOV. 20, 2023  ·  FILED FROM THE BALCONY

The morning began without incident. Hershel and Elia, having recently moved past the not-really-holding-hands phase and well into the actually-holding-hands phase, walked to the grocery store. They bought salami, eggs, bread, the standard provisions for one (1) Shabbat. On the way out, hands full and somewhat occupied, the driver of a passing delivery van rolled down his window for reasons that remain, to this day, unclear.

Only love will win.

He said it once. He said it with what witnesses later described as concerning certainty. He then drove off in the direction of the marina, leaving Hershel and Elia to walk the remaining distance home in silence broken only by the practical question of who was carrying the eggs.

The remark was not solicited. It was not, strictly speaking, even on-topic. And yet it has been entered into the record as one of the foundational utterances of this publication. Subsequent investigation has failed to identify the driver. Inquiries have been made. They have led nowhere.

Continued in THE CHRONICLE, page 04