Luciano is a small-framed elderly man of Italian origin, with kind, smiling eyes. Every day, he rides his bicycle around the Old Town, offering warm hugs to passing strangers. He is 60 years old.

Born and raised in Mediona, Italy, Luciano spent his youth surrounded by emotional wounds, from his family and from those around him. Since childhood, he had been rejected and isolated, and that very loneliness shaped his reclusive, solitary life later on. At the age of 30, Luciano sold his house in Italy, and for the next 17 years, he lived in India. During those years, he rarely interacted with anyone, spending most of his time alone in his own world.

Ten years ago, he came to Chiang Mai hoping to heal his legs after a severe accident in India. One day before Christmas, during his treatment in Chiang Mai, he happened to meet a man from England and from that moment, Luciano’s life was never the same again.

That day, Tha Pae Gate was filled with festive Christmas cheer. Luciano sat quietly among the bustling crowd. The Englishman and his friends were giving out free hugs to strangers as a way to welcome the new year. Seeing Luciano sitting alone, the man invited him to join. Luciano immediately refused, saying he preferred to be alone, that he didn’t like talking to people. But despite his refusal, the man insisted and gave Luciano a hug. One by one, the others followed, each holding him tightly in a warm hug.

Feeling the miracle of those hugs even from complete strangers, Luciano decided the very next day to carry on that idea. And so, with his small bicycle, he began riding around Tha Pae Gate every day, offering heartfelt hugs to everyone he met. He never returned to India again.

I met Luciano on a bright afternoon, the sky a deep, endless blue, while I was wandering aimlessly with my thoughts. He was small, with deep eyes, curly brown hair, and a long beard. His tricycle was painted in many colors, with a laminated sign on the basket that read FREE HUGS. He wore a faded brown shirt with the same words printed across the chest, and a pair of colorful, mismatched pants. Everything about him seemed to say, “I can offer you a hug. Give me a smile if you can.”

After an hour of conversation, I hugged Luciano tightly before saying goodbye and walking back to my hostel. I wondered, did Luciano ever realize that he himself is a true healer?

I went with Julien to the waterfall behind Chiang Mai University. The water was cool, clear, and the place was fairly empty. On the opposite bank, there was a young man immersed in a book under the sweet golden light of the late afternoon. He was reading so intently that it seemed, for him, the world around had disappeared entirely.

After waiting for Julien to finish his swim, we wandered through the little paths around the waterfall, picking up trash before heading back. Julien mentioned that occasionally he and a group of friends organize cleanup sessions along the rivers and around this waterfall. That day, I had to use my worn-out grocery bag to hold the trash we collected because it was more than we had expected. By the time we reached the foot of the waterfall, the sun had completely slipped behind the ancient mountain ridge.

Just be,